Sovereign Agenda: Sequel to the Untamed
by Silverleone
Summary: Sequel to Chance Untamed! (HTTYD) Rai Taiki and Akumu Tanaka thought they were finally going home; a chance for Akumu to start anew and for Rai to see his family again. Unfortunately, they are finding this new world is not home and is just about as strange as the one they just left. If not more so. Just who is the old guy just saved their lives? Rai already misses his dragons...
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am back at it again, with another story!**

**Yes! This is the moment a lot of you have been waiting for, the sequel to Chance Untamed is starting up! It has been a long two years, and while I missed being on this site, it was well worth it!**

**Hopefully my writing style hasn't change except for the better. Hopefully. I had a friend on my mission read over the few chapters I had written at the time (About 7 or 8 months ago now, and he said it was awesome.) So, hopefully this lives up to your expectations!**

**Also, I might only be able to update at most once a week for right now. While I've got a few chapters up a just about finished, I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands. With trying to start an E-commerce, along with a wood working business and trying to find a job? I'm lucky if I get any free time right now!**

**Still, I hope you enjoy, Sovereign Agenda: Sequel to the Untamed**

**~Silverleone**

(Ending to Chance Untamed)

"...Hey...I never got to ask...how old are you...?"

"...I'm 17..."

"Welcome to the family...little sister."

««{{Present Day}}»»

I woke up shooting into a sitting up position, a cold sweat freezing my back, and the rest of me numb. I sat there panting and then felt the bed sink slightly. I looked over to see Akumu opening the door.

Akumu Tanaka, the one person who had been after my life for a little more than two years. The one person who had made me break two of my promises.

The one person I could call family in this strange world. Looking past her mid-rift length, platinum blonde hair, concern was evident in her silver eyes. She was still in her nightdress.

"Rai...Are you okay? You were screaming." I rubbed my face with my hand, trying to wake up enough to hold a conversation.

"Was I? I'm sorry if I woke you up. Go back to sleep, I'll be fine."

"'Cause I'm supposed to believe that..." She quirked an eyebrow at me, and I sighed.

"Yes, you are. Now go back to bed." She crossed the room, folding her legs as she sat on the bed, huffing slightly.

"Not until you tell me." This time I raised my eyebrow, sitting up and putting my glasses on.

"No."

"Tell me."

"No." Her lips tighten.

"Rai Taiki," I almost flinched at the tone and use of my surname, "You will tell me this instance! This is the second time this week that you've woken up screaming!"

"I don't scream..." I said indigently.

"Yes, yo-grr...Just tell me!" I turned my head away, mumbling something. "You know, the next time you mumble, I'm going to smack you." I sighed and turned to look at her.

"I was dreaming about Tesla, Sting and...and the others..." All traces of sternness were gone. She stood up and moved over to sit next to me. Her arm was just a hair's breadth away from mine. "I just wish...I could have stayed with them...Or at least...see them again..."

"And I wish I could have gotten to know them. I know how much you care." I rubbed my eyes, moving my glasses. I took a deep breath while pinching the bridge of my nose. I replaced my glasses and looked over at the bedside table. It was empty besides a lamp. Apparently, they didn't use electricity. Which was still strange because I didn't see a kerosine tank.

"Dang it, clocks don't work here...even if we had one..."

"Well the sun's about to come up, so you might as well get up too."

"Ugh, fine." I flipped my covers back and stood up, looking around the room while stretching. Giant stone bricks for the walls, and smaller, smooth stone for the floor. Multiple moving paintings, yes, you heard me right, and a few banners. "I keep telling them they don't need this much decoration...it makes the room too busy."

"You are so weird..."

"Says you. Tesla thinks I'm normal."

««{P.O.V.}»»

Tesla the Skrill was flying alongside Toothless the Night Fury and his rider, Hiccup. They were simply doing their daily rounds of patrol when he suddenly sneezed, almost knocking himself out of the air. Toothless pulled up and hovered while Tesla shook his head.

"What was that about?" He asked, his ear flaps perked up.

"Don't know...think someone's talking about me..." Tesla grumbled. Toothless shook his head, knowing Tesla wasn't a big talker, especially after his rider left. Toothless looked down at the necklace hanging around Tesla's neck. A Zuni Bear burnt into white quartz. It had been his Rider's, Rai, farewell gift to Tesla that day not too long ago, and Tesla had Hiccup make it fit around his neck. A strong cord of leather kept it in place, and Tesla wore it almost every day.

He misses him...They were as close as Hiccup and I are, and they only knew each other for less than a human year.

"Think it was...Rai?" Toothless asked cautiously. It was a touchy subject, and while Tesla hadn't been completely closed off from everyone the past week, he only truly opened up to Toothless and Sting, the young Triple Stryke that Rai also gained as a friend. The Skrill had taken him under his wing as they both learned to live around human civilization without a rider.

Tesla simply shrugged and kept flying, Hiccup staring off into the distance in thought.

I wonder how Rai is doing...?

««{{P.O.V.C}}»»

I sneezed out of nowhere and rubbed my nose.

"That came out of nowhere. You good?" Akumu gave me a once over.

"Yeah...think someone's talking about me..."

"Who? No one knows about us except the professors."

"I don't know." I walked over to the window, flinging back the curtains, which, after being moved a bit, pulled themselves back to let in the morning sun. I looked out, seeing a forest with a mountain in the distance. "Hey, why do you think it's called the "Forbidden Forest"?" I looked over my shoulder at Akumu, hearing her walking up behind me.

"I don't know...wanna go see?" A grin pulled across our faces, and we rushed to get dressed. I grabbed my stuff and ran into the bathroom. Professor "Dumbledore", as he called himself, had explained that the castle we were in was used as a school, and the term had started in September, and we were near the end of November, the 27th to be exact. He never had stated what was taught here, but because Akumu and I weren't idiots, we figured out that magic exists in this universe, be it how Dumbledore saved us from becoming human pancakes when we had first arrived in this world. While magic is hidden from the every day "muggle" it is very widely known knowledge, with schools placed all over the world. from what I read, you can't just "gain" magic, unlike techniques in Martial Arts. It is either passed down through generations, or there is a chance a witch or wizard could be born from muggle parents. Akumu had snuck around the castle at night. I myself, sitting down to read a few books she had found in the library.

One, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had a plethora of information concerning the magical beasts in this world. There were many names I recognized from stories in our world; Goblins, Unicorns (which I'd love to see), Centaurs (one of my favorite mythical creatures), Giants (broad term, but understandable), and even Mermaids. Then there were some I didn't recognize: Thunderbirds (which look SO cool!), Hippogryphs (this world's version of Griffins, but they have a horse half instead of a lion), and Cerberus.

Dumbledore suggested we get new clothes, seeing the torn and dirty state our's were in. He had taken us two travelers to a muggle clothes shop after we stated there would be no silly cloak wearing for either of us. I had picked out my standard jeans and gray v-neck, Akumu seeming to try and follow suit, finding black jeans and a black v-neck. I teased her about stealing my style and she simply smacked my shoulder. The aged professor simply insisted that he pay for it with the little muggle money he had. It was beyond awkward to walk around with an old man in wizarding robes. Akumu and I were both used to being in the background.

We got stared at a lot...

I had asked Dumbledore if he knew of a seamstress, stating my coat had needed repairs for a while now. When I had asked, he simply smiled and pulled out his wand, which I internally tensed up at, still not used to a simple piece of wood holding such strange power. He waved the stick and said Reparo, the threads that I had originally used to stitch some holes fell out, and all the holes simply reformed back to their original state. I had numbly thanked him and walked away.

I finished getting dressed and checked myself over, readjusting my new necklace. Once I was sure I was ready, I knocked on the door and called out to Akumu, asking her if she was finished. When she responded with a yes, I stepped out to see her with her cloak draped over her shoulders. We both nodded and started the descent down and out of the castle. We were staying on the third floor, and Dumbledore urged us to avoid a certain corridor, stating that in the past, many students tried to break the rules, for which, they paid the price. I had internally roared at that.

What?! Are you keeping something dangerous at a school full of KIDS?! The heck is wrong with you?! I had simply amounted it to the fact that he was getting delirious in his old age, clearly not thinking very...clearly...

Akumu and I finally stepped outside, pushing the giant front doors open. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"It feels good to be out here, but the morning chill is a bit much..." Akumu wrapped her cloak around herself.

"Oh, come on you pansy. Race you to the edge!" I took off running for the edge of the forest, laughing the whole time.

"HEY! I'm not a pansy! And no fair!" She booked it after me, trying to catch up. I slowed down to a walk as I neared the edge of the forest, letting her catch up. I looked over and saw Rubeus Hagrid's hut, smoke not yet coming out of the smokestack. ("Call me 'agrid! I'm the Keeper of the Keys and Care of Magical Creatures teacher!")

"I-hate you...*huff**huff**huff*" She stood up and followed my gaze into the black forest. "What do you think is in there?"

"Hippogriffs, for one."

"What? Is that a mix of a Hippo and a Griffin?" We both laughed, but I shook my head, starting the walk through the forest.

"No, but it is a brother species to the Griffin. The main difference is the backside isn't a lion, it's a horse. Also Unicorns...those are in there somewhere too." I saw a spark of interest in her eyes.

"Think we'll see one...?"

"The books say they generally avoid humans, as they were hunted to almost extinction years ago." I could've sworn I almost saw her pout.

"Darn...maybe we can see them from a distance."

"Maybe, if we get lucky. There is one creature we need to keep an eye out for."

"...Do I want to know...?" She picked up on my nerves.

"Acromantula."

"Acro-what?"

"-Mantual...Giant spiders." The whole forest seemed to get quieter. We both stopped and listened for any sounds. At one point, I thought I heard a vehicle in the distance, but it must have been my imagination. Then we heard it. Pounding, four times, then a sharp pause, followed by four more loud pounds.

"Rai...what is that...?" I could hear the panic in her voice.

"I-it could be the Centaurs..." The ground was starting to shake, and our heads snapped over to see the trees themselves moving in the distance, being shoved aside by something. Something huge. "...Akumu..."

"Yeah...?"

"Run." We spun and booked it back towards the castle, trying to outrun whatever that thing was behind us. Soon, too soon, we could hear snarling and snapping of jaws.

"What is that thing?!"

"I don't know! Keep going!" I jumped over a log while she ran around a tree, and I caught sight of a path that was going in our direction. "There! Follow that path!" I skipped a step so she could leap in front of me. We could run at a better speed now, slowing the approach of the impending jaws. We burst out of the tree line and kept going, not wanting to stop. I thought I heard someone shouting, but I didn't stop until I heard someone playing a flute. The pounding slowed to a stop so Akumu and I turned to see what had happened.

Standing in front of a Cerberus, (of all creatures!) was Hagrid. He was playing what sounded like a flute, and the Cerberus seemed to calm down, slowly walking up the Hagrid and bending down. I thought Akumu was going to shout something. I felt like I needed to as well, when out of all scenarios, Hagrid reached out and started petting the giant three-headed dog! He turned around and called out to us, waving us over. I gulped as Akumu hid behind me. I internally shrugged and started walking over, only to stop when Akumu pulled on my coat.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed in my ear, obviously not trying to anger the giant beast.

"I get the feeling it's not going to hurt us while Hagrid is around. Come on, I thought you said you weren't a pansy."

"That was before I saw there was I three-headed Hell Hound hanging around in the trees!" I gently pulled my coat from her grasp and started walking over again. I noticed she followed but stayed directly behind me.

I don't blame her, but I can't show my nerves in front of this...dog...I don't need to become a snack.

I made it to about 20 feet away when she pulled on my coat again, not wanting to get any closer. I shrugged her off and slowly approached Hagrid, who now had the dog laying down, its three heads all watching me with caution.

"G'mornin' Rai! Now, what would you two be doin' playing tag with this 'ere Fluffy."

*Thud* I looked back to see Akumu now passed out on the floor. I simply turned back and raised an eyebrow.

"Fluffy? Why would you name it Fluffy?" One of the heads growled, and I took a minor step back. The middle head perked up and the Cerberus stood. I took a full step back this time, and it stepped over Hagrid, who spoke to it in a warning manner. I gulped and held my place, trying to shove all instinctual fear down.

I've legitimately fought and then smacked (multiple times, mind you), a lightning breathing dragon...This is nothing...Blech its breath stinks! I winced when the three heads took in my scent. The one on my left growled, and the middle one nudged it, silencing it. I decided to try something I hadn't been able to do in a while. I shut my eyes, turned my head, and held up my hand. I could feel the six eyes staring at me, burning holes in my skull. Then I felt the hot breath come closer blowing my hair around. Then a cold surface pushed into my hand, and I slowly looked up. The middle head was gently pushing its nose into my hand, calmly looking into my eyes. I gently started to scratch its nose, at which its butt raised into the air and started moving, all three heads moaning a bit.

"Oh, n-OOF!" I heard Akumu scream as I was knocked flat on my back with three tongues plastering me to the ground. "Blech! EW! Gros-OFF!" I was laughing too hard to properly get up, and I had to sit there for a minute, with Hagrid reprimanding Fluffy. He walked over and helped me to my feet. Okay...He lifted me off the ground with one arm, then set me back down.

"You aight Rai? I'm sorry 'bout Fluffy there, but it's not often he finds someone he likes. What was that you did just then? I've never seen that way of greetin' creature?" I tried to brush off the slime covering my clothes and face but to no avail.

"It's fine Hagrid, no harm done. One of my friends taught it to me, knowing how much I love magical creatures. Hey, do you know a spell that would clean me up? This stuff isn't coming out."

"I-er...I ain't allowed to do magic..."

"Oh..." I could tell it was a sensitive subject for the half-giant, as he wasn't making eye contact. I dropped it and turned to look at Akumu. "You still standing there? Get over here." I tried to wave her over, but her face was flushed white, and her hands were shaking. "Akumu, he's not going to hurt you." She stiffly shook her head and I sighed. I turned to Fluffy, who was laying there patiently watching the whole ordeal. "Hey Fluffy? Wanna make a new friend?"

"Rai...What are you doing...?" Akumu gained a harsh and nervous glare and threw it in my direction. I pointed to her while still maintaining eye contact with the middle head.

"She wants to say hi! You should go greet her!" Next thing I know, I'm rolling on the floor laughing as Fluffy chases Akumu around the grounds, her screaming curses at me the whole time. Eventually, Hagrid called his dog back, not wanting Akumu to get hurt. Said girl collapsed a few feet from me, having been running on adrenaline the whole time. I sat up, still chuckling. She glared at me through her now messy hair.

SMACK I fell to the ground, dazed. I shook my head and sat up, only to receive the same punishment again.

SMACK

"Ow! Would you quit it!"

"Jerk!" She simply stated, and raised her hand again, only to freeze when three growls broke the semi-silence.

"Fluffy! Watch yer tongues!" I saw Fluffy drop his heads. I stood up and tried to brush myself off, only further spreading the slime and grass. I held my hand out for Akumu to take, her gladly accepting the offer, albeit grudgingly.

"You okay?" I asked, warily staying out of arms reach.

"Fine. No thanks to you."

"I just wanted you to make a friend."

"By siccing him on me?!" I just blinked once.

"Yes. You were taking too long." Stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"...Why I outta!" She started to charge at me, when a huge paw slammed down between us, both of us yelling in surprise and falling back. Three giant dog heads leaned down and started growling.

"Fluffy no!" I jumped up and got between them, holding my arms out to the side. "Down boy!" He hesitated, switching his three gazes between the two of us, trying to decide what to do. He liked his new friend, but this other human that had a faint dreadful smell kept hitting him. "She's a friend. There's no need to attack her, okay?" The three-headed dog eventually backed down. The left head snorted and looked away. I simply shook my head and sighed. I glanced back at Akumu, seeing her visibly shaking. I looked over to Hagrid, who was getting after the right head.

"Hagrid, I think we're going back to the castle now. That was enough excitement for one day." Hagrid simply nodded and bid us farewell. I walked over to Akumu and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Let's see if we can't get any chocolate from the House Elves."

"I hate you."

"I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Silverleone: OKAY! I admit it! Hermione was right! I'm a big freaking idiot! I uploaded chapter three and four without chapter 2! I am fixing it now! And just because I screwed it up again, I'm giving you chapter 2-5! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!**

**Hermione: *Slight smirk growing, opens mouth***

**Silverleone: Not. A. Freaking. Word. Granger.**

**Hermione: ...At least you were humble enough to admit it?**

**Silverleone: ...Thank...you...**

**Hermione: *Cringes a little* That was painful. Even for me.**

**Silverleone: *Scowls* Shut up.**

««{One Week Later}»»

"Wait...you expect me to get a wand?"

"Precisely." Old-man-beard was pacing in his office, myself standing in the middle, slowly turning to keep him in front of me.

_Does this guy ever stop pacing__?_ I finally gestured to his desk, silently asking to sit in the chair he had offered earlier. I had been too nervous at the time, choosing to stand instead.

"Me... A wand..."

"Yes, Mr. Taiki. I assume Ms. Tanaka will need one as well, if you are going to make this a team effort." I shifted in my seat. Akumu might not want a wand…

_Then again, _I thought, _it just might give her access to her magic_

"Um...I'll have to ask her about that..."

"Of course, I would not expect you to drag her all the way to Diagon Alley only for her to reject the idea." I nodded and stood up, straightening out my coat.

"I'll go ask her right now, might as well do this as soon as possible." Dumbledore agreed to this, and I exited his office. Once I was sure no one was around, I rubbed my hands together, creating static. I turned to face the corridor that led in the direction of our room and took off running. I felt the slight amount of static build up in my limbs, making them tingle. I pushed myself to go faster, feeling the energy and the wind. I skidded when I got to a corner and pushed off the wall to sprint forward. I almost felt like shouting a whoop, but the students were in class. How they had not noticed Akumu and I yet was beyond me. We hadn't tried to avoid attention, if the Fluffy incident was anything to go off of. Most students now knew there were two strangers on campus, but they still hadn't seen us face to face. I heard a church bell sounding throughout the halls.

"Dang, I almost made it!" I ducked into a hidden corridor behind a statue, wanting to wait out the period between classes. A specific conversation popped into existence. It sounded like one person talking to themselves out loud.

"...-Isn't that right Forge?"

"I think it is Gred. I think Umbridge isn't squirming enough right now." I noticed two sets of feet, just slightly off in time from each other, getting closer to the statue. I looked around to see if there was any other place to hide, but there wasn't. I stood tensely into the darkest corner of the small pocket and hoped my blond hair didn't give me away. Two black school robes appeared within my sight.

"Well well well, what do we have here Forge?"

"I do believe it's a student out of uniform Gred."

"I don't think-"

"-Professor Umbridge would be-"

"-Pleased with this-"

"-At all." I grasped the side of my head as a headache presented itself like a hammer. The two of them stood on either side of me, both placing their hands on my shoulders. Instinctually, I grabbed their hands and flipped them on their backs, the twins letting out twin coughs.

"Don't. Touch me." I stepped out from behind the statue, checking for any other students before continuing on my way.

"Oi! You can't just throw us-"

"-On the ground-"

"-And walk away mate!"

"Just threw you on the ground, walking away now. That simple." They both froze for half a step, glancing at each other. They nodded ad caught back up.

"So..."

"-Are you an-"

"-Ickle firsty?"

"You're pretty-"

"-Strong if so." I stopped mid-stride. A deadly undertone was in my voice when I asked a question.

"Did you just call me short...?"

"Nah mate, just wondering-"

"-How old you are."

"Right now, I'm about to sign both of your graves...I'm busy, leave." I started walking again, leaving them to jog a bit to catch up.

"Oh come on-"

"Mate! That's no-"

"-Way to treat-"

"-Your best friends-"

"-In all of Hog-"

"-Warts!" I stopped and turned around.

"Don't you have classes to get to?" A vein felt ready to pop, and the fact I hadn't gotten enough sleep since arriving at the school hadn't helped in my snappy mood.

"Nah, it's our cashing in period."

"Though most call it a free period."

"But we make bank, so it's not really free."

"You guys sell stuff...? In a school...? Is that even legal?"

"Who cares mate-"

"Stop calling me that." I interrupted.

"-When we're making money and-"

"-Spreading the good name of the-"

"Weasleys!" A shout came from down the corridor we were walking down. They both stopped in their tracks and spun on a dime.

"Uh oh, got to go mate, see you later!"

"Yeah, cheers mate!" The twins took off running.

"I told you not to call me that!" I shouted after the twins. I turned back around to see a man running...okay, limping at an impressive clip, with a cat following closely behind. I simply jerked my thumb over my shoulder, not bothering to say anything. The man gave me a once over, but shook his head and kept going. I shook my head and jogged back to the room Akumu and I were staying in.

I said the password, Dimensions, and entered the room to see Akumu laying on the couch with her feet set up on the wall. She looked up, from her perspective, and rolled backward into a sitting position when she saw it was me.

"So what did the old man want?"

"Um..." I sat down on the couch. "He thinks it would be best if we...went to Ollivander's and both of us got a wand." She blinked once while this request processed.

"Oh...And what are your thoughts on this idea?"

"I'm not sure. In the long run, it could mean getting home...But at the same time...Would we get attached to our wands and have to leave them here? I heard they are "magically sentient", choosing their wielder themselves."

"Well...I think we should."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think it would be good to have such a valuable resource at our fingertips...literally and metaphorically." I chuckled at her little joke, then perked up when a knock came to the door. We traded glances and got up to answer it. I reached the door and called through it.

"Who is it?!"

"Oh come on ickle firsty, don't-

"-You remember-"

"-Us?" Akumu gave me a weird look and I groaned.

"Go away!" I started to walk away, but Akumu stopped me.

"Who are they?"

"Some annoying students I bumped into earlier. Twins." She winced in sympathy. I remembered the gang she headed had a set of twins. Extremely good with escrima sticks, if I remember right.

***Knock knock knock***

"Oh firsty!" I snapped around to the door, vein pricking.

"I will end you!" I yanked the door open, slamming it against the wall. "What. Do you want?"

"Just wanted-"

"-To say hi!" I ground my teeth.

"Stop. Doing that."

"Well-"

"-How else-"

"-Are we supposed-"

"-To get our-"

"_-Information-"_ They both finished in unison, grinning like madmen. I sighed, dropping my head into my hand, feeling the headache growing.

"Oh! Why didn't you tell us-"

"-You had a-"

"-Girlfriend?"

"Beautiful one at that, eh George?"

"Right-o Fred!" I froze when I saw they were no longer in front of me, and slowly turned, seeing them surrounding Akumu. She looked very uncomfortable, having never had anyone talk to/about her like that. Her face was bright red, and she had a "please just kill me now!" look on her face. My face went a shade darker, but it wasn't from embarrassment. My protective instincts had kicked in, and I was mad.

"You have five seconds." I pointed to the door. "To leave this place. Otherwise no spell in existence will fix what I do to you." They were behind me before I even saw them move, standing in the doorway.

"Well alright then."

"Didn't have to be rude mate."

"Just trying to make a few friends here."

"Cheerio!" I slammed the door, turning and sliding down it.

"Are they gone...?" I looked up to see Akumu's face returning to a normal paler shade. I stood up, shaking the anger out through my hands.

"Doubt it. How'd they even find me? I ran the other way after some man started chasing them." I walked over to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. "I know you can take care of yourself...But are you okay?" She took a deep breath.

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. I've just never had someone do that before...much less twins..." I let out a weak chuckle as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"Wanna go see Dumbledore about those wands now?"

"Sounds better than sitting in here all day." We had a fun time dodging students and laughing when they didn't notice us in near plain sight.

"Did you see that girl's face?! She looked like she saw a ghost!"

"Well, that's just rude." Akumu and I spun around to see a woman with her hands on her hips. The main problem was that she was near invisible...and floating... "Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"I-I uh...We uh...Um..." Neither of us could properly form words in our mouths, being too shocked at what we were seeing.

"Now now Helena, no reason to be like that." I turned to see another ghost floating over. I could feel the blood drain from my face, and Akumu ducked behind me. "Oh don't worry young ones. Even if we wanted to hurt you, we can't." He tipped his head to one side. "Although, I must ask, why are you not in uniform? I believe they are required for students."

"Oh...We aren't students here." Both ghosts pulled back in shock.

"What?!"

"Not students? Then how did you get on the grounds?!"

"Oh, Dumbledore is allowing us to stay until we can find a way home."

"Then who are you exactly?"

"My name's Rai, and this is my sister Akumu." I felt her tense slightly at the word "sister".

_She's not used to that yet...understandably._

"Well, it's nice to meet both of you. This lady over here is Helena, or The Grey Lady, and I'm Nearly Headless Nick." I quickly found out why I felt a sharp pain of dread filling me when Akumu asked a question that had popped into my head.

"How can you be "nearly headless"?" Nick leaned forward and pulled his head to the side, showing it was only held on by a sinew of skin, while the rest had been cut apart. I felt as green as Akumu's face looked right now. Nick simply flipped his head back into position.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you both. I shall be headed on my way now, good day to you!" He floated off to do whatever ghosts do in their free time, and The Grey Lady did the same after saying farewell as well.

"...I thought I was going to lose my breakfast..." I turned and gave her a playfully dirty look.

"Hey! You asked!"

"And I regretted it immediately afterward..." I shook my head in exasperation.

"Anyways...Shall we go see Dumbledore?"

"Sounds good."

**BONG BONG BONG** We both froze, realizing we were in the middle of the hallway with two different classes. I looked over, voice tinged with slight worry and excitement.

"Run?"

"Run!" We booked it to the end of the hall and turned just in time to hear both doors open, a flood of students coming out. We kept running all the way to the Headmaster's office. We stopped to catch our breath for a minute in front of the gargoyle guarding the entrance.

"Okay, how do we get in?"

"Like this," I turned to the gargoyle, "Hershey bar." The gargoyle moved to the side, showing the door it protected.

"That's the password?"

"It changes, but it's always a candy of some kind. Mostly British though." We walked up the stairs into the office.

"Hey Dumbledore! We talked about it, and agree to go..." My voice died when I saw a blindingly pink spot standing in front of the Headmaster's desk. The blob turned around quickly, sharp eyes calculating the situation with a superior glare.

"And why aren't you in uniform young man?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I asked you a question, young man!" I snapped out of it a second later, folding my arms in front of me. I didn't take kindly to that tone from someone without good reason.

"My name is Rai. May I ask who's asking?"

"Professor Umbridge, High Inquisitor at Hogwarts." She said it so haughtily, I'm shocked her blindingly pink clothes didn't combust.

"...I'll come back later Headmaster, sorry to bother you." I started to turn back to the door.

"Now hold on a second young man. I don't remember any "Rai" on the list of students." She looked past my shoulder. "And who is your friend? I've never seen either of you on the list!" She turned to Dumbledore, who hadn't changed his expression in the slightest. "How are these two on school grounds?! They are obviously not students!"

"Correct. We are not students."

"I beg your pardon?" I really didn't like this woman. I had to hold back a scowl, keeping my expression neutral.

"You're excused," I say without even thinking, "I was saying, the Headmaster has been kind enough to harbor my sister and I until we find a way home. He offered the choice of becoming students here, albeit there would be some catch-up work on our end."

"Why was I not informed of this?!" I internally winced at her shrieking. Dumbledore spoke up with a deceptively calm voice.

"Now now Professor, I didn't tell you because I did not believe you needed to know. I was simply giving these two very nice people a place to stay while they try to find their way home. I had asked Mr. Taiki earlier if he and his sister would like to join Hogwarts until they accomplish their goal. They are here now to give their answer, it appears." He folded his fingers together, resting his elbows on his desk.

"As High Inquisitor, I demand that you inform me of such things! Otherwise, I will have to report this to the Minister himself!"

"Mr. Taiki, Ms. Tanaka, come visit me later today, now is not a good time." I decided to peg one on the pink blob and bowed to Dumbledore, but not her. I straightened back up, turned, put my hand on Akumu's shoulder, and walked back out.

"I don't like her." I said tightly. Akumu scoffed at me.

"No, you think? What do you think about someone from the government being a professor in a school?"

"Not very common, that's what. I read up on the Minister, and he's claiming this kid named Harry Potter is lying about the fact that this "Voldemort" guy is back. Whatever that means."

"I read something about that guy...Apparently, that Harry kid was only one to survive when Voldemort tried to kill him. Supposedly the spell backfired, killing the man, and the only evidence is the lightning bolt shaped scar on the kid's forehead."

"People can't come back from the dead." I stated without a second thought.

"What about me...?" I froze in place.

"You are...an exception..." We started walking again.

"Yes, but we don't know if that magic exists here or not."

"There's no telling Akumu. We should just be careful."

"Hey look Forge! It's our good pals!"

"Quite right Gred! Shall we go say hello?" I had tensed up when I heard the dreadful duo's voices behind us.

"I think we shall!"

"Akumu."

"Run?"

"Run!" We took off down the corridor, trying to lose the twins. To be honest, they were fast, and seemed to know every corridor in the whole castle, keeping up with us. When we came to the last corner before our room, I looked over and caught Akumu's eye. We nodded and I grabbed her wrist, planting my foot and swinging her around while she pushed off the wall. I let go and she jumped high, landing perfectly and sprinting ahead. I booked it after her, hearing the twins catching up.

"Hurry George! We almost got 'em!"

"So close!" I could hear the glee of the chase in their voices. I saw Akumu say the password, opening the door. She held it open for me, and not even three seconds later, I dived through the door, shouting.

"Shut it!" She slammed the door, and we heard the twins coming to a skidding stop.

"Oh come on now! It's not nice to shut the door on your friends!"

"Friends?! I don't even know you people!" I shouted as I rolled back onto one elbow.

"Well...no reason to be rude now mate."

"Stop. Calling me that." I felt a vein ready to burst for the second time today as I got up. I stalked over to the door. "Now what do you want?!"

"Just saw you going into-"

"-Dumbledore's office, noticed Umbridge going in there-"

"-First. Just wanted to know how badly-"

"-Your ears drums are burning after-"

"-Her screeching." I looked over at Akumu, who shrugged her shoulders. I sighed and opened the door to see a twin pair of grins.

"_We'd know you'd see it our way."_ They started to step forward, but I held up my hand.

"First. Touch her?" I pointed to Akumu with a thumb, "And you won't even begin to know what hit you." There was a minuscule drop in their smiles, but it was gone before I could even tell what it was.

"_Got it."_

"Second? Don't break anything."

"_Fair enough."_ Initiate tick mark.

"Third? Stop. Doing. That."

"_Doing what?"_ I dropped my head into my hand. I stepped to the side and let the twins in, their eyes scoping out the room. I shut the door, making sure it was locked, then went to sit next to Akumu, who had gone and sat on the couch. I gestured for the twins to sit on the two chairs that accompanied the

"Alright. Firstly, who are you?"

"I'm Forge-"

"-And I'm Gred."

"So George and Fred." I pointed to from left to right. They both froze for a second. Fred spoke up first.

"...Did he just get it right...?"

"And with such confidence."

"By George I think he did!" I nearly fell off the couch at the pun. Soon they were both right in front of me.

"So how'd you know?!"

"No ones ever-"

"-Figured it out."

"It's mostly-"

"-Just guesses-"

"-And that's only a 50% chance." My head was spinning trying to keep up with the conversation, and I merely shut my eyes, listening to them speak.

"I noticed you both were more familiar with the last half of your nicknames. You said them easier than the first part, meaning that they were part of your counterpart's actual name." They both flopped onto the bed again.

"Un-bloody-believable..."

"He noticed..." Akumu spoke up.

"Okay...now why are you two following us?"

"We just wanted-" I held up a hand

"Stop. One twin to a sentence. Please." They nodded.

"We just wanted to get to know you better."

"Never met someone who was staying here for rent." Akumu spoke up after that, and she sounded nervous.

"Well, our story is a bit more complicated than that..." She gave me a sideways glance. I caught on to what she was referring to.

"Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded in return. I turned to study the twins for a moment, getting a feel for their atmosphere, their attitude, their persons. I met Akumu's eyes and nodded.

"We can trust them." We both took a deep breath, getting ready to tell quite the story. "Alright, buckle in boys, because we've got a story to tell you." They traded a glance, then pulled their legs up into their seats, folding them and looking like two-year-olds getting ready for a fairy tale. Akumu took a deep breath, and nodded at me, wanting me to start.

"Alright. It all started a little more than two years ago. Then again, it feels like decades to the both of us..."

««{Flashback}»»

"Alright, you got everything you need?"

"Yes mom, I've got my stuff." I said, shifting my Katana sheath into place.

"Alright, be safe now!"

"I try!" I walked out the door, shutting it behind me. I sighed.

Another day, another round 'em up. I stepped off the porch and started walking to the precinct.

_I wonder who Chief's got for me today...I can't believe we caught the Jensen Twins...My team almost didn't make it out of there..._

I continued walking, occasionally dodging the stray pedestrian. I noticed someone walking in my direction with a purple cloak on, the hood blocking their face. I made myself look oblivious, and they bumped into me with more force than necessary. I immediately spun and grabbed the person's shoulder, snatching my badge back from their hand.

"You know. It's not nice to steal." I turned them around and pulled off their hood. A young face glared at me, no older than my own age. Platinum-blonde hair fell around her shoulders, and sharp silver eyes met my gaze. I was shocked at the raw anger behind them. The anger wasn't just in general, it was at me. "Hey, you got a problem with me or something?"

"Cops." The word was spat out like a bad bite of an apple.

"Excuse me? Do I need to take you in for attempted theft of an officer?" She pulled her arm out of my grasp and started to walk away. "HEY! Freeze!" She booked it, and I took off after her. I caught up and tackled her, dragging her to the ground. She spun out of my grip and stood up, pulling twins knives out. I stood up as well, getting to a defensive position. "I would not recommend that. You attack me, and I can peg you not only for attempted theft and resisting arrest, but assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder of a police officer." I shifted my stance lower. "Drop the knives and come quietly, and I won't say anything about the last two charges."

She _growled _at me and leaped forward, swinging downwards with both arms. I jumped back and punched forwards with my right fist, connecting with her left wrist. She dropped the knife and charged with a flying tackle. I rolled with the punches and kicked her off me as I spun into a crouched position. She landed with an "oof" and rolled back up, a scowl quite obvious.

"Are you really so cocky that you think you can beat me?!" I pulled back a bit.

"I'm not cocky. Just confident in my abilities. I know when I'm outmatched."

"Then you must be really stupid, because you have no idea who you're dealing with!" A crazed look entered her eyes, and I was wondering just how true that statement was.

"Maybe if you put away the knife and told me your name, we could talk." I reached to my badge and hit the silent alarm, sending my location to the nearest officers.

"GrrRAAHH!" She rushed me, and I spun left, elbowing her in the back as she passed. She let out a cough from pain and I spun right, bringing my right knee up into her stomach. She dropped the knife in her hand and I kicked it away. We traded blows for a minute before I jumped back to gain some distance. I'd admit to anyone she was good. Almost as good as me.

"Now. Hands behind your back."

"Not on your life baca!" She leapt foreword, rolling to pick up the knife. She spun as I started after her, and threw the blade right at me. I tried to dodge, but it sliced through my thigh, making me drop to my knee, yelling in pain. I gritted my teeth and tried to stand, but my leg couldn't hold my weight. I noticed three teams of cops run up, and I pointed at the retreating girl, hissing out a command.

"After her!" Four cops took off in her direction while another pair helped me get up. I noticed a higher ranking officer walk up to us as they set me on the hood of their patrol car.

"Taiki?! What happened?! Are you okay?!" He pulled out a notebook after reassuring himself that my life wasn't in any danger. I saw one of the officers that helped me on the phone, probably getting an Ambulance.

"I'll be fine. I was just walking to work, when I noticed this person in a purple hooded cloak walking towards me. As you know of my "infamous intuition", I got a bad feeling about them, so I played dumb. They bumped into me harder than the normal person, and I felt them grab my badge." I grimaced when I moved my leg wrong.

"What then?" He clicked his pen and started writing.

"I stopped them, and pulled off their hood, revealing a female, about 5'4", platinum blonde hair, gray eyes, and all black clothes underneath the cloak." I sighed and grunted in pain as an officer tightened a tourniquet around my thigh.

"Anything else?"

"Obviously the twin knives."

"Twin? There were two of them? I only saw her holding one."

"The other one should be over there..." I pointed down the street. A stray detective that had just arrived on scene ran over to check the area as an Ambulance pulled up.

"And why didn't you defend yourself?" We both raised our eyebrows and he gestured to my Katana.

"It would've limited my movements against a smaller, unknown opponent. I could be dead if I hadn't left my hands open."

"Well, it's a good thing you're so knowledgeable." I scoffed.

"I've still got a lot to learn, sir."

««{Flashback End}»»

The room was quiet as the twins took it all in. I looked over at Akumu, gauging how she was handling.

"Wow mate...never expected something like that..."

"Yeah...wait. You two aren't siblings?"

"No. I adopted her into the family less than a month ago."

"But didn't she try to kill you?"

"Yep."

"...Wicked!" They both grinned. I looked at the candle in the corner, enchanted to tell time by rejuvenating every morning at five, then burning down until midnight.

"Don't you boys have lunch to get to?"

"Right mate! We can't miss the third most important meal of the day!"

"What's the second?"

"Desert! Later!" They hopped up and ran out the door with a wave. The room fell into an awkward silence for a minute. I looked over to Akumu, seeing her looking away from me.

"Are you okay?" She looked over, pain hidden in her eyes. "Hey, hey, hey, don't think about it. Don't. What you did was wrong, yes. But you've changed. You've realized what you've done in the past, and you want to redeem yourself." I rubbed her back as a tear fell from her eye. She sniffed and wiped it away, sorting herself out.

"Okay...okay." She sighed deeply. I smirked.

"I wonder what our wands will look like? I hear they're all unique. Wanna go find out?" She nodded, now smiling. I stood up and offered my hand. She took it and stood up. "Come on, let's go see if Umbridge has deafened the Headmaster yet." We laughed, leaving the room.

I stepped out of our room after Akumu, shutting the door behind us. I held out my arm and Akumu wrapped hers around it. We only made it halfway down the hall when Dumbledore came around the corner in front of us.

"Ah, I see you two are ready to go?"

"Yeah, we talked it over. Are you sure you can leave in the middle of a school day...?"

"Any problems can be handled by the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Mcgonagall, who has been informed of this little escapade."

"Oh, okay. So, where exactly are we going again?"

"Diagon Alley. It's where you will go to buy most of your supplies. Books, cauldrons, parchment, quills and ink-"

"Woah now, hold on a second sir. Did you just say quills?" I broke his tangent, surprise evident.

"Why yes, is there something wrong with that?" He looked genuinely confused.

"You do know what pens are...right?"

"Of course, but I believe quills add a sense of history and...wonder...to the school."

"History and wonder? I...No promises on not going into a rage because of them..."

"Yeah, I guess if we don't want our house to hate us we'd better use them."

"If you have not forgotten, you can be sorted into different houses than each other." Dumbledore reminded us gently.

"We didn't forget, but I know it would be uncomfortable for us to be in rival houses."

"Well, if you are ready, we can use the Floo Station to get to Diagon Alley."

"What's a Floo Station?"

"A fireplace connected to other fireplaces, similar to a train, but much more convenient. When you go through, remember to speak your destination clearly. Otherwise, you could end up somewhere completely different, which would be extremely inconvenient."

"Got it." We arrived in Dumbledore's office, and he walked over to the fireplace in the corner. He pulled a pot off the top and opened the lid, revealing a green-gray powder.

"Both of you grab a good handful, yes like that." He placed the pot back in place and took his own handful before replacing the lid. "Now, shall I go first to give you an example?"

"I think I'd like to go first, sir." I spoke up, stepping half a stride forward. He nodded and I stepped into the fireplace.

"Remember to keep your elbows tucked." I just quirked an eyebrow and nodded.

"Diagon Alley!" I said with a stern and clear voice. I threw down the powder, then covered my eyes as a blindingly green flame engulfed me. I stumbled out of the fireplace when an invisible force shoved me from behind. I barely caught myself when the flames ignited again, sending Akumu flying into me. I yelped as she crashed into me, knocking us both to the ground.

"Rai! I'm so sorry! I couldn't catch my balance! I-"

"Get off, then talk!" I coughed out. She scrambled to an open spot on the floor, helping me sit up.

"So...did we make it?" The green flames leaped towards the ceiling once again, making me jump for the second time. Dumbledore stepped calmly out of the flames, brushing some soot off of his robes.

"It seems you forgot to keep your elbows tucked." He reached out a hand to Akumu, as I was already standing. She took it, hauling herself off the floor. She muttered a 'thanks' and he responded in kind. I looked around for the first time and saw a bustling street with buildings squished together, each one looking ready to pop out to make room for the others. "Welcome to Diagon Alley. Now, shall we go see Ollivander?"

"I guess we shall." I held my elbow to Akumu, who wrapped her arms around it, rolling her eyes at me. I could tell she was a little nervous about being in a crowded place. I motioned for the headmaster to lead the way. His eye twinkled as he smiled. He walked forward, a specific destination in mind.

As we walked, I noticed something that made me rather uncomfortable.

"Professor, why are we being watched?"

"Well, it's not every day the Headmaster of the wizarding school comes to visit. In addition, your muggle clothes are...unusual."

"Fair enough." I wasn't satisfied with the situation, but the answer calmed me down a bit. We eventually reached a dingy, oh who am I kidding the whole place is dingy, shop. Two half turrets framed the building, with a sign hanging above the shop that said: Ollivanders Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC.

"382 BC? Interesting." Akumu had read the sign as well, noting the date. Dumbledore turned to us with a warning tone in his voice.

"Now, before we enter, I must inform you that the wand selection process can be a long one. Young Mister Potter had a very nice sized pile by the time his wand was found."

"I think it will be okay. Just as long as we don't somehow blow anything up in the end." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled knowingly, and I elbowed Akumu.

"Nice you just jinxed us!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She stated as she walked through the door Dumbledore held for us. I followed her in, only to sneeze as dust filled the air.

_Oh great. Now my allergies are acting up_. I stood right next to Akumu as I looked around. Shelf after crooked shelf lined the entire room behind a large desk. Long, thin boxes lined the shelves, dozens of them ready to fall off at the slightest breeze. Dumbledore stepped forward, looking calmly around the room.

"Mr. Ollivander, are you here?"

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" **CRASH BANG **"Oh dear me!" **Smash.** Akumu and I winced at each loud noise, hoping that it wouldn't be the mysterious man's downfall. Next thing we know, out comes the most gangly looking man you'd ever seen. Thin and bent over, he looked like Mr. Scrooge from that American Christmas movie. He walked over from behind a shelf, dusting himself off.

"Well, what can I do for you-ah! Albus! It is good to see you old friend. Are these two customers? A bit older than normal, and might I say, a bit late for the school year?" His statement was finished with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, well, these two have a special circumstance surrounding them. They will need wands though."

"Ah! Yes, let's get started shall we?" A magic measuring tape flew over to us as Ollivander grinned. I nearly smacked the thing away out of instinct, but withheld any reactions. "Now, which of you would like to start?"

"Would you like to go Akumu?" She shook her head and I shrugged and stepped forward.

"Now, which is your wand arm?" I slowly raised my left hand in question and he nodded. "As long as that is the hand you wish to use. But I must warn you, your wand will choose you, which means it might not like it if you change up how you use it."

"That's understandable. Um, are..." I hesitated as the measuring tape soared around me in a tornado, getting my arm length, my height, my waist size and such. Then it snapped over to the wandmaker and he nodded, waiting for my question. "Are wands sentient?" He smiled at my question, and shuffled over to a seemingly random shelf. He pulled out a box and dusted it off, looking at it for a moment before straightening up and coming back over to the desk, opening the box and pulling out a short, pale white wand and holding it up to the light.

"Birch, Unicorn hair core, 9 ¾ inches. Wands are magical, which, as you might have guessed, means there is always mystery surrounding objects of that nature." He held out the wand and I hesitantly took it, looking over the details carved into the wood. "Well, go on give it a wave." He almost looked giddy. I quirked an eyebrow and gently flicked the wand. The lamp on the desk morphed into a molten metal mess, bubbling with heat. I jerked back in surprise and handed him back the wand promptly, not wanting to melt anyone's face off. "Nope, not that one. Hmm... Some wands don't like certain spells, so they won't work as well. They do choose their witch or wizard. So in the end," He flicked his own wand and the lamp returned to normal. "I would say yes, wands can be sentient. To an extent, of course." He turned around and removed a box from the shelf right behind him. He opened the box and pulled out a rich brown wand. "Mahogany, Dragon heartstring, 12 inches." I gently took the wand from him and flicked it. A box in the back flew forward and I had to duck to avoid it. It crashed through the window and I heard a scream from outside. Ollivander already had his wand out, and magically pulled the box back into the building fixing the window at the same time.

"I'll just leave this here..." I gingerly set the wand down and Ollivander smiled.

"Not quite, but getting close..."

"After only two wands?"

"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. …?"

"Taiki, sir."

"Yes...wait...you are not native." He wasn't asking a question, rather, making a statement. "That accent...Are you native to Japan?" I blinked in shock at the accurate guess.

_Is there a Japan here?! What if we're not in a different world?!_

"Oh. Um, I wouldn't say native. My parents moved over there before I was born. So native in the sense of living there, but no blood relations."

"Well, that makes things interesting...Ah!" He shuffled his way to a shelf off to the right, moving stacks of wand boxes with magic. He dug around a bit and pulled out four or five boxes. He waddled back over to the desk and set them down. I felt a pull in the front of my mind, and I reached for two of the boxes without thinking. Ollivander slapped my hands gently, snapping me out of my trance.

"Curious...you felt multiple pulls didn't you!" He was very excited at this new turn of events.

"I'll be honest sir...I don't know what that was." He smiled again and picked up one of the boxes I had reached for, opening it and pulling out the wand. My attention was on it solely.

"Pear, Dragon Heartstring core, 12 ¾ inches, Slightly Springy." He handed me the wand. I was mesmerized as a light shot from the tip, zipping around the room and myself. I studied the wand itself after the light died out. A light gold wood, slightly darker than the fruit the woods species bore, it had the simple design of two angles reaching out to a center plateau acting as a sort of hilt, with a teardrop-shaped pommel coming to a point. Intricate markings wrap around the plateau on the hilt, and I was shocked to see they were Kanji. Wind. Water. Earth. Fire. "This wand is good for those who are generous and kindhearted. The Dragon Heartstring core can be a bit temperamental, and it has a trace of flamboyancy. I advise caution with this one." I set the wand back in the box, not wanting to hold it for too long. I could feel the power growing inside me, and I didn't want it to somehow burst until I fully understood my capabilities as a magic-user.

"Now, this is most curious, did you feel the same strength of the pull between the two wands?" I scratched my head.

"I...I believe so...Is something wrong?" I thought I had broken something without knowing, and I knew if it was true, Akumu would never let me live it down.

"There is nothing wrong my boy," I grimaced internally at that, not another one... "But it is not very common that a wizard feels the pull of two wands equally. There is only the rare case of it coming closer to matching, but never equally. It is a most unique situation. Not a problem though, we'll get this figured out." He pulled out the second box and smiled at the label, opening the box and holding it up.

"Strange. I've only ever heard of these wands, never having made one myself. Shikoba Wolfe, a wandmaker in America, gave this to me as a gift when I went over to visit almost a decade ago. She had said it was of no use to her in her shop. But no matter who it was, I had not found a witch or wizard compatible with this wand. Lilac, Thunderbird tail feather core, 13 ½ inches, ridged. It is a very uncommon combination, as I have heard that both parts can sense danger. Lilac is very good for imaginative spell casters, adapting to new ways of casting spells. It is also apt at illusion magic, as a side note." He handed me the wand, and a spark ran from it to my hand before I even touched it.

My instinctual response was to pull away, but the spark hadn't hurt. I gently grasped the wand, and lightning coursed from it into my arm, surging through my body as I felt more awake than I ever had before. I felt my new power, the one I had gained because of Tesla, surge and meet the wands magic, electricity dancing across my skin and clothes. Eventually, the light show died down, and I felt exhausted. I almost stumbled as I grabbed the desk in front of me, panting slightly as Akumu stepped forward to check on me.

"...Well then...Never in my years have I seen such a show..." I heard what sounded like Akumu face-palming in the background. I studied the wand. (You can find an image on my DA account, same UN as here.) Cream colored and simplistic, the shaft ran smoothly down to two cones. A simple receding handle slimmed down and then pushed back out to create a slanted pommel. Said pommel rested right in the center of my palm.

"Now, how this is going to work...The Lilac wand is much more powerful and will want to be up front. I feel...try this." He picked up the Pear wand and held it out. "Grasp it with your right hand." I quirked an eyebrow and gingerly took it from his hands. I felt two different surges of magic fly through my arms and meet in my chest. My arms snapped out to the sides as I fought for control and felt a hand on my shoulder. Mr. Ollivander had come around the counter and was standing in front of me, looking into my eyes. "Right now, the two wands are fighting over who is your main companion. Direct your magic in between them, force them apart."

"I-I, I don't know how. It hurts!"

"Stop! Make it stop!" I heard Akumu call out Ollivander.

"Miss Tanaka, you mustn't interfere! If you do, you're magic could make things worse!" Dumbledore stepped in between her and I. "Mr. Taiki must do this himself." I struggled to find my magical core, but having never done so, I decided to go for a more brutish tactic. I built up electricity and sent it down both my arms, zapping the wands. Not enough to burn them, but hopefully it got the point across. The magic reverse-tug-of-war stopped, and I felt the two magics recede. I slumped against the desk and felt Dumbledore grab me by the shoulders, dragging me over to a chair. I sat down heavily and stared at the two wands in my hands.

"You two going to be trouble anymore?" I felt their magic enter my arms tenderly, hesitant, as they didn't want to get shocked again. "Good. Imma take a nap now." I slumped over and fell into a light nap after setting them down. I heard Akumu's worrying voice before I faded out.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. But I've never seen magic such as that before. Interesting... Anyways, shall we get your wand now Ms. Tanaka?" Darkness enveloped me, and I fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"...ai...Rai..."

"Mmmm, five more minutes..." I shifted around a bit, settling down again.

**SLAP** I fell out of my chair as something struck me across the face.

"Wake up idiot!" I looked up to see Akumu with her hand raised, poised to strike.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I backed up against the chair, holding my hand out. "Geez women, you could've have woken me up more gently?!"

"GRRR!"

"Kidding!" I looked around to see us still in Olivander's shop. I stood up and dusted myself off.

"What happened? I remember picking up both of the wands, then a surge of energy... Then nothing."

"Well my boy, it is a rare case, a rare case indeed, for a wizard to be able to tame two wands at the same time. Much less for two wands to choose the same witch or wizard for that matter. Both wands wanted to be the one in charge, but you magically beat them into submission." I looked around for my two-for-one shopping experience. I saw the boxes sitting on the table next to the chair I had been in. I opened both boxes.

Lilac, 13 1/2 inches, Thunderbird tailfeather core.

Pear, 12 3/4 inches, Dragon heartstring core.

"Yes Mr. Taiki, what Mr. Ollivander said is true. In all my long life and studies, I've only ever seen one other person who could wield two wands at once." I stayed silent as I reached out, holding my left hand over the Lilac, and right hand over the Pear. I wanted to try something; not sure it would work.

"...Here." A simple command made the wands snap from their resting places, flicking into my hands with the appearance of practiced ease. Power surged through me, but instead of the two wands fighting, they met in the middle, their magic joining and spreading throughout my body. I reached out with my abilities, joining the two in a dance of power. Lightning once again ran across my skin and clothes, racing up and down my arms and legs, but this time it was harmless.

Eventually, the lights show died down and I looked at my wands, both of them humming happily. We weren't going to have any problems.

"Wow..." I looked over to see the other three staring. "Rai, that was amazing!"

"Yes, quite the show, I must say."

"Hey Akumu, which wand did you get? Now, for you, Miss Tanaka, that will be 7 Sickles." We both froze.

_' Duh! _'Shopping'_ for wands!'_

"Uh..."

"Uh..."

"Don't fret children, I've got it covered."

"Professor, we couldn't possibly ask you to do that." I tried to reason with him, but he already had a coin purse in his hand, digging through it.

"And how much for Mr. Taiki's two wands?"

"For that spectacular show, only 16 for both."

"Of course, 23 Sickles in total." Dumbledore handed over the money, and I gave up. I placed both of my wands in their boxes and looked over at a hand that appeared in my field of view. "I will hold onto one of those. We wouldn't want to draw attention to your special talent."

"That makes sense." I handed him the box with the pear wand and he tucked it in his robe pocket. I turned to Ollivander and gave him a respectful nod.

"Thank you for your time sir, and the wands of course."

"Yes, thank you." Akumu stepped up next to me.

"Of course you two. Be advised to not flounce your rare abilities." I nodded in understanding. Dumbledore stepped up and shook Ollivander's hand.

"Until next time Ollivander."

"Same to you Albus. Safe travels now!" We waved as we stepped out the door. I was looking over the wand box in my hands as we walked, and my left shoulder felt off. A thought crossed my mind.

"Say, Professor...There wouldn't happen to be a place that makes wand holsters, would there?"

"Well, what do you have in mind?"

««{{¤}}»»

***Ding ding ding*** We stepped into a shop and immediately I could smell nothing but leather and heat.

"Hello?" A heavier set lady stepped around from the back of the shop, dusting her hands. She looked energetic and ready to go. "Yes? How can I help you?"

"Are custom orders possible?"

"Well, let's hear it! I'm always up for a challenge!

««{{¤}}»»

***Ding ding ding***

"...Feel free to use that pattern, I find it very handy! Thank you very much and have a good day!" I said as I backed out of the shop.

"I will, come back anytime!" We waved as we started walking down the street. My steps were feeling lighter, and my wand slightly poking out from behind my neck. Dumbledore looked at my wand curiously.

"A holster on your back, I must ask where you got the idea."

"I am...was...a swordsman." I went on to explain how I trained in martial arts, and eventually found my choice weapon, a katana. I had to pause when we went through the Floo Network, and finished once we arrived in Dumbledore's office.

"I must admit, that is quite the tale. It is getting late, I think it's time for some food, run along now." Albus handed me my second wand box and we said our goodbyes. We exited his office, heading back towards our room.

"Man, what a day." I said, lacing my fingers behind my head.

"No kidding, first the twins, then that woman. And then comes the wand shop. I'm so ready to sleep." I hummed in agreement. I started to turn the corner into the hallway that held our room, but jerked back and pulled Akumu with me, putting my hand on her mouth when she started to protest.

"Shh!" I peeked around the corner to see the before mentioned women. She was opening our door and walking in. "That! How dare she!"

"What?"

"Umbridge is in our room! She just waltzed in there like it was nothing!"

"What?! I'll wring her neck!" I held out my arm, stopping her from doing anything rash.

"Wait... I've got a better idea." I grinned and she followed suit.

"Tell me what to do."

««{{¤}}»»

Umbridge stepped out of the room, humming happily to herself. She shut the door and reactivated the password with a flick of her wand.

"You know, I MIGHT have let you in had you only asked." She spun to see me leaning against a statue, studying my new Lilac wand as I twirled it in between my fingers. "But no, you had to try and sneak behind our backs." I looked up and glared at her, my tone clipped and short. "What gives you the right." She huffed haughtily and straightened her jacket.

"As Hogwarts High Inquisitor, it is my duty to make sure the students are safe."

"...Are we going to have a problem...Professor?" Her sickly smile fell, and she grew confused.

"What problem? Are you threatening me?" She noticed what I was holding and her eyes went wide, "Where did you get that wand?!" I ignored the last question.

"Oh me? Never. See, I have this thing called patience. Her, on the other hand? Well, let's just say she hates it when people cross the line. Especially her line of privacy." Umbridge's look of confusion only grew, and then she turned around. A black shadow rose from the ground.

"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT?!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" A punk blur shot past me, moving at a very impressive clip. Akumu stepped out of the shadows, a smug look on her face. I looked in between her and the corner Umbridge had just run around.

"...Did we really just do that?"

"Yup."

"...Think we'll hear about this from Dumbledore?"

"Doubt it." A heavy silence filled the air.

***POP***

"The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office."

***POP*** I blinked at where the house elf had been.

"...You were supposed to knock on wood..."

"How about I knock you upside the head?!" She bit back, only slightly miffed.

"***Sigh*** Let's go...I wonder what crazy story she's cooked up for him." We started walking back. We were almost to the Headmaster's office when I remembered something.

"We never got dinner..."

"Taiki!"

***CLANG***

"Ow! Was that really needed?"

"Yes, to knock some sense unto you!"

"If we weren't adopted siblings I'd call this an abusive relationship."

***Whack***

"Ow! Only proving my point!" I rubbed my arm a bit.

"Shut up! Like I'd ever date you!"

"'Aye! It could happen!" I reproached.

"In your dreams maybe!"

" Maybe that's something only you'd think!" She stopped for a split second.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" I said the password as we got to the door, saving the conversation for another day. We walked up the stairs and into the office.

"That's her! Capture them!" We were immediately swarmed by guys popping into the room, and we defended ourselves as they came at us. Some tried using magic, but we got in too close for safe use. Soon, all but four of us in the room were on the ground moaning in pain. I saw two guys holding a specific area and winced in sympathy, shooting a look at a guilty-looking Akumu.

"Did'ya have to hit them there?"

"My...leg slipped...?"

"STUPIFY!" Before I knew what was happening, my hand reached back and grabbed my new wand, and my legs moved me in front of Akumu. I slashed down and the spell was cut in half, going to either side of us and smashing into the wall.

"ENOUGH!" We all froze at Dumbledore's shout. "Delores! What is the meaning of attacking my guests?!" I stepped back in line with Akumu, still holding my wand in case Umbridge tried anything. Akumu leaned over and whispered to me.

"Since when do you know spells?!"

"I don't! I think that was just pure magic..."

"That girl knows Dark Magic and that boy has a wand he had to of stolen!" I stepped forward.

"First of all, there was no magic back there in the hall. Second, the Headmaster just took us to go get our wands. Not even half an hour ago, as a matter of fact."

"How would you know if Miss Tanaka knows Dark Magic?" The Headmaster spoke up, intrigued.

"Because I saw her doing it when I..." I glared at her as she hesitated.

"Please Professor, I want to hear your side of the story." Dumbledore raised a calm eyebrow.

"What did you mean, Mr. Taiki?"

"Just Akumu scaring Umbridge for sneaking into our room." All eyes were on her now, and she knew she couldn't lie about being there.

"I-I was checking for anything that might have been a danger to the s-students."

"You mean a danger to you?" Dumbledore gave Akumu a look.

"Miss Tanaka..." Akumu backed down, albeit a little reluctantly. Umbridge regained her posture and smiled a sickly grin.

"I did find something, actually, and it seems quite concerning."

"And what, do tell, is in our room that could be so dangerous?" I shifted my weight, ready to deny the thing she had somehow conjured up.

"I found something that had magical residue on it. Specifically that of the dragon kind." My blood went so cold it froze.

'She didn't...' Umbridge reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace. MY necklace. My hand reached up to where it would normally rest, and I looked down, only to feel and see nothing. I then remembered I left it in our room so it didn't get stolen in Diagon Alley.

"This will be sent to the Ministery of Magic to be examined." My wand fell from my hand, clattering on the stone floor. My eyes were shadowed by my hair. I felt static begin to build.

"You have no right to be holding that with your grubby paws..." All three of them were shocked, especially Akumu.

"Rai?!"

"Mr. Taiki?!"

"Pardon me?!" My hands were shaking from anger.

" Give me, my necklace..." I was trying to hold it back, I didn't want her to know about my ability, but seeing her holding my last physical connection to that other world, to Tesla and Sting, made me angry. Not just angry, enraged.

"Why? Is it dangerous? Something I shouldn't have found?"

"...Give...it...back..." A surge of power washed over me with each word, and I was struggling to hold it back, even if part of me wanted to throw it at her all at once.

"Delores, I think it would be best to hand it over." Even Dumbledore was sounding slightly unsure, maybe even nervous.

"Why?! What magic does it posses that he's so scared of losing it?!"

_'Losing it...Losing it...Losing it...'_ I snapped.

"GrrAAA_AAH!"_ Lightning lashed out, blasting pictures and devices of all kinds, frying bookshelves and parchment. Akumu leaped behind a desk, covering her head. Dumbledore threw up multiple shields in an instant, stepping back to a safer distance while Umbridge fell back in shock, desperately trying to back away from me.

"GIVE IT BACK! IT'S ALL I HAVE _LEFT OF THEM!" _I roared, tears and lightning in my eyes as I glared at her. The static around me was powerful, catching parchment on fire and making shelves explode.

The storm went on for a while, tearing the office to pieces. Soon I ran out of steam and the energy dropped down to mere static dancing on my clothes.

"...It's...all I have, left-." I collapsed. Akumu ran forward to check on my heart rate and breathing. Once she was sure I was alive, she stormed over to Umbridge and snatched the necklace. Umbridge was shaking like a leaf in a hail storm, probably from both electrical and psychological shock. Akumu walked back over to me and hooked my necklace around my neck, then stood up and looked at the devastated room. The door burst open and McGonagall ran in, only to stop and stare. A man wrapped in dark robes wasn't far behind her, looking like a stoic man who was shocked into silence. Akumu sighed and picked up my dropped wand. She looked at a troubled Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, could a house elf take us to our room? I think we are done for the night..." Without thinking about it, he called an elf and gave it instructions. It popped over to us and held mine and Akumu's hands, popping out in a swirl of colors.

We arrived in the room and Akumu asked the elf to help her get me into bed. Having done as asked, the house elf left. Akumu sat next to me heavily, looking at my unconscious form.

"Rai. I knew you missed them, but I guess I didn't realize how much...you cared for them..." She looked down at her hands and saw she was still holding my wand, whispering in a hopeless tone. "I...I wonder...if you care about me...as much as them..." She jumped when a hand landed on her's, and her eyes snapped up to my face, only to meet teary blue eyes.

"Sister..." I said weakly, then lifted both of our hands to my necklace, where it sat right above my heart. "...Brothers..." A choking sob almost escaped her, and she threw herself next to me, hugging me as best she could. I weakly returned the hug.

"Really...?" I smiled and closed my eyes, drifting off. But not before a six letter word escaped my lips, attached to a small smile.

"Always..."

I remember that day... The day I met Tesla...

««{{Flashback}}»»

The Skrill obviously feels the same way about its own situation as I do mine. It's in an unknown area, with complete strangers surrounding and attacking it. Even if I do consider these guys friends, I still don't know them all that well. I slowly walked over, keeping my left hand partly outstretched. The Skrill was being understandably wary.

"Hey big guy...I gotta thank you for saving me back there, I thought I was a goner." The Skrill grumbled, shuffling its feet a bit. "Yo-You're kidding me...are you embarrassed?" It gave a half hearted growl, half turning away. I scoffed, "So the Big, Bad Dragon isn't so bad after all? You're scared...like me." The Skrill looked at me in surprise. "Yeah, I guess the clothing gives it away. I'm not from here. I have no idea how I got here. I remember getting attacked, and then waking up after Hiccup had found me. I'm in a completely different place than I was before I woke up. I'm scared, and I bet you're feeling the same way." 'Did I just spill the past month's worth of garbage onto a dragon's lap?' The Skrill had an unreadable expression on its face for a while, and it looked away. I didn't know what to do other than stand there. It turned back to me, a rumbling in its throat. It had a strange look in its eyes.

Then it pounced.

...

When I opened my eyes, it was staring directly into them.

Pain. Confusion. Fear. Anger.

...

Every thought, every emotion, led to this one image. It all came crashing down at once. Everything combining into a beautiful scene. The sun was just sinking below the water, a sliver of that grand ball of fire shooting beams of orange, purple, red, and yellow across the sky. A tall sea stack, scattered with grass, shining in the sunlight. And dragons, dozens of dragons soaring through the sky.

««{{Flashback}}»»

I slowly gained consciousness, my eyes blinking wearily. I saw I was in my room.

_'How did I get here?'_ I last remembered, I was in Dumbledore's office, seeing Umbridge holding the necklace made out of Tesla's and Sting's scales. Then black. I tried to recall what happened next, rubbing my face with my palms.

"Don't bother, you passed out after blowing up Dumbledore's office." I looked up to see Akumu holding a plate. "You good to stand?" I reached over and grabbed my glasses, seeing a lens cracked.

"Oh. Fantastic." I put them on and threw back my covers, turning to stand. I leaned forward, only to slap my hand against the wall to stop my face from doing so. I sat back, holding my head with a groan. "Ooooooh...not good to stand..."

"Well, it's a good thing you don't need to move for breakfast." She walked over and handed the plate to me.

"You are a beautiful person." I dug in, seeing bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns.

"You think I don't already know that?" I rolled my eyes at her, too focused on my food. "Hmph. Well, when you are done stuffing your face, Dumbledore wants to see us in his office." I nearly did a spit-take of the milk I was drinking.

"Seriously?! I just tore it apart last night!" I quickly finished eating, only to jump when the plate vanished. "Convenient."

"Lazy. You better not get fat here. I won't have my training dummy getting soft."

"D-hey! That's rude!" I stood up, feeling a lot better. "Alright, let me get changed, then we'll go see what he wants."

««{{¤}}»»

We were walking down the hall to get to the Headmaster's office when a loud bell rang through the halls. A cacophony of voices broke out, and we both stutter-stepped.

"Dang. Students."

"They're going to see us at some point, why hide now?" I said, knowing she wouldn't like the proposition.

"***Sigh*** You're right...doesn't mean I have to like it though." She glared at me. I smiled knowingly.

"I wouldn't expect you to." We rounded a corner and saw a wave of students headed our way. With us in our unusual garb, and the students used to only seeing robes, whispers broke out quickly.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know. What are they wearing?"

"Looks like muggle clothes to me..." They parted as we kept walking, only for us to stop when a trio stood in the middle of the hall and didn't move. The tallest one with blonde hair spoke up, a cocky, know-it-all look on his face.

"How did two muggles get on the grounds? You aren't supposed to be here. I guess Dumbledore's security isn't as secure as we thought." Akumu and I glared at him with the fury of the sun. She spoke up faster than I could.

"Move peasant." The whole hall went silent in the snap of a finger.

"What?!" The boy looked like he had just been slapped, then stepped forward in anger. "Do you know who my father is?!" He spat. Akumu snorted.

"Don't know, probably couldn't care less." His face went red.

"Why-! You-!" I stepped up and smiled.

"We really don't have time to chat, goodbye." We stepped right around him and kept walking, conversations breaking out behind us. I allowed a grin to spread across my face, keeping my eyes forward. "I think you broke him."

"Spoiled brat like him? Honestly couldn't care less. 'Do you know who my father is?' Wouldn't want to, with the way he was raised." I snorted and heard rapid footsteps behind us, we both turned to see who it was. Three other teenagers were running up to us. One, a boy with messy black hair and round glasses spoke when they caught up.

"Excuse us! Sorry to bother you!"

"I've never seen anyone talk to Malfoy like that! Bloody brilliant!" The boy with distinctly red hair spoke next, eyes lit up.

"I must admit, it was rather...bold...to say something like that to him." A female with long, bushy brown hair spoke up. "Terribly sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves! I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand and we shook it.

"Rai Taiki." I gave her a slight head bow, and she nodded back. Akumu didn't care for formalities.

"Akumu..." I gently nudged her. "Tanaka." The red haired boy stepped up and shook our hands in turn.

"Ronald Weasley, but just call me Ron." I smiled in sympathy.

"I'm so sorry." He looked confused.

"Huh?"

"The Twins." The look on his face changed into a goofy grin.

"Ah, heard of them have you?"

"Met them, actually."

"Now I'm the one who's sorry." I chuckled and turned to the last student.

"Harry Potter." We shook hands simply, but Ron seemed to be waiting for something. I looked at him.

"...What?" He relaxed and took a breath.

"Nothing. You're not from around here are you?" That statement only grew our confusion.

"Umm..."

"Obviously Ron, they have an accent." Hermione said.

_'Hey, if anyone has an accent, it's you!' _I could almost hear Akumu thinking the same thing as me.

"Sorry to interrupt, but what just happened?" I asked. They all seemed to remember that we were still standing here.

"Oh, well, see, Harry here defeated the You-Know-Who when he was a baby."

"Ron!" Harry seemed exasperated, almost like he had heard this story before.

"Sorry...I don't "know who"..." Hermione titled her head and spoke up.

"What about the Dark Lord?"

"Maybe from a movie..." Ron tried another name.

"He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?"

"Now that's just stupid long."

"Agreed." They all said at once. Harry spoke up again, seeming to hesitate for a split second.

"...Voldemort...?" The air seemed to grow cold, but it was just a breeze blowing through the halls.

"Is that an actual name?" They all nodded.

"You really aren't from here." Hermione scoffed at Ron's awe.

"Obvio-"

***Ding Dong Ding Dong*** The school bell went off, ringing invisibly through the halls.

"Sorry! But we have class to get to! If you see us, feel free to say hi!" They waved and took off.

"You as well! It was nice to meet you all!" They were soon out of sight, having turned a corner. Akumu and I shared a look.

"What just happened?" I shrugged in response.

"I have no idea." We returned to walking to the Headmaster's office. I knocked on the door and was given entrance. Walking in, we saw that the office was somehow back to its normal, unorganized chaos.

"Ah, just in time."

"Sorry Headmaster, we got held up by some students." He nodded his head in understanding.

"It would seem like your stay here is no longer our little secret." He walked over and handed me a piece of parchment. "I received this just this morning." Akumu and I read through it. It appeared to be a letter from the Minister of Magic himself, requesting to sit down with "Dumbledore's dangerous secret guests."

"Paranoid much? And what kind of name is Fudge?"

"Akumu!" I said, exasperated, but only slightly shocked she said it.

"What?! You were thinking the same thing!"

"I wasn't going to say it out loud!"

"Yes, Fudge can be rather...cautious. Do you want to settle his nerves and meet with him?" Akumu threw her hands in the air.

"Why not! We'll have tea and crumpets, then throw ourselves in jail and snap the key!"

"I would never allow that to happen." Dumbledore stated simply. I thought about it for a second.

"If it will get Umbridge off of our backs, then we'll do it. Besides, it's not like we are trying to harm the students." My gaze flicked to Akumu. "No promises though..." She glared and I shrugged helplessly.

"In any case, I will send a house elf to let you know when the meeting will be."

"Thank you, Headmaster." We left after saying our 'byes. We started walking down the hall, only for the blonde kid from earlier to come around the corner. He spotted us and marched up, his face flushing with color.

"You! I've got some words for you!"

"Don't waste your hot air on us. You need it to keep your head in the clouds." I barely caught a scoff as Akumu spoke so casually. His jaw dropped as we walked past and he started fumbling for his wand. I spoke up, knowing what he was doing.

"If you want that wand to stay in one piece, leave it." He froze and all his color drained from his face when I shot a look over my shoulder. Akumu snickered.

"Not trying to hurt the students, I thought you said?" I smirked.

"No promises, I also said."

"Touché."

"Besides, I wouldn't have actually snapped his wand. That'd be cruel." She rolled her eyes.

"You are way too passive-aggressive."

"It works, doesn't it?"

"I can't believe I'm stuck with you till we get home..." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"Sister, you're stuck with me forever."

"Release me or pay the price."

"Okay, geez." I pulled my arm off her before I got punched. "Sorry, your Highness."

"Taiki..."

"Oh come on, how could that make you mad?"

"...You have 3 seconds."

"I didn't even do anything!"

"3."

"Running!" I took off, hearing footsteps behind me. I smirked, getting an idea. I threw my voice over my shoulder. "Look at me, I'm pampered and spoiled! I've never been chased before! I'm shaking in my overpriced bathrobe!" I heard her choke back a laugh, and then I had the wind knocked out of me when she tackled me from behind. "OOF!" We both went rolling. She pinned me down before I could do anything. "My _FA_-ther will hear about this!" She cracked at my terrible accent and rolled off of me laughing.

"What are you doing?" We both sat bolt upright but sighed when we saw the Weasley Twins standing there. Both of them were confused, but very ready to join in on any fun to be had.

"Hello Fred, George." I got up and helped Akumu to her feet. "We were just having a bit of fun." The Twins traded a look and grinned.

"We know how to have some fun." Akumu and I then traded looks and turned to them with grins of our own.

"Show us."

***BOOM* *Whiz* *Snapsnap* *Girls screaming***

"Go Go Go!" We bolted down the hall as fast as we could, turning the corner. We got to an empty hallway and I almost lost my balance laughing.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into setting that trap!"

"We can't believe you did it either!" We slowed to a walk a caught our breaths.

"Rai, that was the coolest/dumbest thing you've done since taming those dragons." I stopped on a dime at Akumu's words.

*Beat*

"...Wicked!"

*Whack*

"OW!" Akumu ducked her head and rubbed the spot where I had just clobbered her.

"Akumu! Shut, up!" I said through gritted teeth.

"What'd you hit me for jerk?!"

"You don't just go spouting information like that!"

"How about I spout my hand upside your head!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" I threw my hands forward.

"What doesn't make sense is you befriending not one, but two, overgrown lizards!"

"Now that's just uncalled for!" I said, feeling defensive of my friends.

"Well it's true! One's a living lightning rod and the other is a freak three tailed scorpion, how is that normal?!" We were both shouting at this point, and the Twins were watching a verbal tennis match.

"Whoever said it was?! And don't talk about them like that! You know nothing about them!"

"I know one thing, you're unbelievable!"

"And you're rude!" I clapped back, finally snapping back.

***SLAP*** My head jerked to the side when her hand made contact with my cheek.

"Have it your way then!" She stormed off.

"Aku-!" I called out, but stopped myself, knowing we both needed to cool down. I slumped against the wall and looked up at the Twins. "Sorry you had to witness that..." I rubbed my sore cheek.

"That was nothing mate. You should come live with us for a week."

"A whole week with all of you redheads? I'll pass on that one." I said in a joking manner after shuddering. Fred looked at Akumu's retreating form.

"Is she going to be okay?" I watched as she paused at a corner, looked back at us, and kept walking.

"As we told you before, we were never on the best of terms..."

"Mate, "best of terms" isn't even close, if what you told us is true." I rubbed my neck, thinking about our past.

"Yeah...I guess I've just been pushing her too hard." I leaned my head against the wall. "She and I come from completely different worlds. Pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. I got too relaxed in thinking how far she'd come." A calm bell sounded, and almost on cue, voices raced down the hall. I pushed off the wall and waved at the Twins. "I gotta go guys, I need some time to think. Stay out of trouble!" I did a solid pause and slowly turned around, pointing a finger at them. "Forget I said that." They just laughed as I walked off, shaking my head. "Crazy twins..."


	5. Chapter 5

I sat down on my bed, sighing as I looked around the room I was staying in. A wardrobe sat adjacent to my bed; a desk was in the corner next to the head of the bed. I moved myself to the center of the bed and crossed my legs, closing my eyes and taking a breath.

I soon slipped into a meditative state and held my hands in my lap, palms facing each other. I focused on the space between them and felt a tiny spark of energy form. I made it jump to my left hand, then to my right. Back and forth it danced, gaining speed and size. I pushed more energy into it, feeling it connect as a beam in between my hands. I pushed a little farther, feeling a buildup in the middle. A ball of pure electricity was soon sitting in between my hands. I cut off the beams and had the ball of electricity floating.

I felt the static in the air, and my mind turned to a certain dragon. My eyes started stinging with emotion as memory after memory appeared in my mind, getting the better of me. My power flashed and a bolt lashed out, hitting the ceiling with a snap. I jumped and reigned myself in before I blew something up.

"Thinking about Sparky?" I jumped again when I opened my eyes to see Akumu leaning against the door frame. Her arms were folded, and her eyes were slightly red. She looked miserable. I let the ball of energy die down and dropped my hands into my lap.

"Tesla? Yeah..."

"What? No shouting at me?" She taunted weakly, not meaning it.

"You know I feel bad about that Akumu." I pushed myself backward and motioned to the open spot on my bed. She hesitated but pushed off the doorframe and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I shouldn't have hit you, and I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm sorry." She stared at the bedsheet, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. "And I'm not mad. I just wish you wouldn't pick on my friends like that. It is still a touchy subject, and I'm really defensive of them." I paused, running my fingers through my hair. "I guess it's because I feel like I have to protect them in any way I can because I can't be there in person..." We both went silent for a while, while she gathered her thoughts. She looked up at me.

"How?" My brow furrowed and I tilted my head slightly.

"'How' what?"

"How can you say that...and mean it?" I got what she was asking.

"You want to know how I can forgive you so easily?" She nodded, still confused. "Akumu..." I thought about it hard, wanting to put my feelings into proper words. I remembered that night on the island right before we left the other dimension. She was either still confused about it, or forgot. "Don't you remember that night on the island before we came over here?" She thought about it, and tilted her head back and forth, giving me a 'sort of' look. "Forgiveness is not always easy... But I have made a promise with myself that I MUST forgive. If I don't, then it weighs on me. Eventually, I could get so bogged down from all of the hate and malice...it would destroy me from the inside." I held up a finger. "But I also forgive because it is the right thing to do." She took what I had just said and mulled it over in her mind. Eventually, she looked up, confusion replaced by thoughtfulness.

"...Thank you." I gave her a small smile.

"What are brothers for?"

««{{¤}}»»

Akumu and I were once again walking through the halls to the Headmaster's office. We had gotten a rather rude and sudden awakening when a House Elf popped into both of our rooms. So sudden, in fact, the poor creature had almost been speared by one of her knives. It took a serious amount of convincing the poor thing it truly didn't deserve death in order to get the reason it came.

"..."

"Don't, say it." She was still rather cranky after being woken up like that.

"I wasn't!"

"Uh-huh." I huffed, then noticed a faint glint in her eye. I turned to her and squinted my eyes. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I'm more observant than that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh."

"Don't mock me Rai!"

"Fine fine, oh look we're here." I said the password and we stepped into Dumbledore's office. I saw said person pacing, and noticed another man sitting in a chair.

"Ah. Miss Tanaka, Mr. Taiki, so nice of you to join us. I hope the House Elf wasn't too much of a surprise."

"Not too bad. At least for me. It might be better to wake her up with a knock on the door."

***Whack***

"Ow! Why me?!" I said as I ducked my head defensively.

"I was woken up just fine thank you!"

"That's not the story I gathered!" The other man in the room spoke up.

"Why wouldn't the Headmaster want to wake her up?"

"It's not a good idea to sneak up on her. Learned that the hard way." The nervous looking man looked even more nervous now. I stepped forward and held out my hand. "The name's Rai, and this my sister Akumu." Akumu put on the sickest grin she could, and I saw the man shrink a little. He straightened his jacket a little.

"But the Headmaster called you by different surnames?"

"Adoptive sister." A new look passed over the man's face.

"What happened to her parents, might I ask?"

"No. You may not." Akumu shot fire at him through her eyes. He shrunk back farther due to her glare. I stepped between them and gave her a look, whispering harshly.

"Down girl." She bristled.

"Taiki..." After a moment, she decided it wasn't worth it and promptly turned her head with a huff. I sighed and turned back to the man.

"Understandably tough subject. I would recommend not poking the sleeping bear again." He looked a good bit paler than a few seconds ago.

"Um, yes, duly noted." He coughed into his fist. "I am Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." Thankfully he held out his opposite hand, which I shook.

"Ah. It is nice to meet you."

"And it's nice to put a face to the name." I raised an eyebrow at the response.

"Has the Headmaster been talking about us?"

"Not exactly. Professor, if you could come out here please?" Umbridge stepped around the corner, a sickly-sweet smile on her face.

"Ah. If it isn't you." I bristled before taking a slow breath. I grinned at her, my canines sharp.

"Professor." Her smile faltered slightly, and I saw a flash of fear cross her face before she straightened her jacket and renewed her smile.

"Shall we begin the meeting with the standard procedures?" The minister nodded.

"Yes, if everyone would hand over their wands." I tensed up and almost reached for it to defend myself. I was able to control the urge and keep my hands at my side. Akumu's hand twitching was the only sign she made to move as well. Umbridge stepped forward and handed the Minister her wand. She turned to us, speaking in her falsely sweet tone.

"Now children," Akumu tensed beside me.

"Rrr..." A warning sound escaped before she could stop it. I took a step forward.

"I would kindly ask you to refrain from using such labels." The Headmaster held up his hands, understanding where we were coming form.

"Now Mr. Taiki, there is no need to be short with Delores, she is only trying to make sure that Hogwarts is not in danger." Akumu leaned forward and hissed in my ear.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking Pinky with me." I mentally rolled my eyes and pulled my wand from its holster, stepping forward and handing it to the Minister, Akumu doing the same.

"Now, shall we all sit and introduce ourselves?"

"What is this, an intervention?" Akumu mumbled as Dumbledore conjured up a few chairs. We all sat down and Fudge coughed into his fist.

"Delores, could we bring out some water please?"

"Of course." Soon waters were passed to us by a house elf, whom I thanked. Wasn't its fault it was stuck working for the woman.

"Right, I believe we shall start with you, Mr. Tiki, was it?" My eye twitched and I forced myself to smile.

"Taiki. Rai Taiki."

"Apologies, may I ask how exactly you were introduced to the Headmaster?"

"He caught us falling form the sky."

***Crack*** My head turned so fast my neck popped. I stared at Akumi. Her eyes were as big as mine. Sickly sweet Delores stepped in.

"I, see. And how, may I ask, did you get into the sky? A broomstick, perhaps?"

"I transported us from another dimension." Akumu gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. I froze to the core. Why was she saying that?!

"What do you mean, another dimension?" I stood up, my chair moving back a little from the force.

"I want to know what you did. Now." I glared fire at the toad, ready to leap at her without hesitation. She went a few shades paler than normal, and shifted back slightly.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Akumu wouldn't say that to anyone she doesn't trust, much less know. What spell have you put on her?" Delores looked a little nervous, but tried to pry herself out of the situation.

"Well I-!"

"That is quite enough." Dumbledore to the rescue. "Delores, might you explain what has happened? I may not know Miss Tanaka well, but I know she would not disclose this information so freely. Especially considering her posture right now." Akumu had her hand firmly clamped over her mouth. I watched Umbridge closely, and noticed her eyes flick to the water. I snatched Akumu's glass and examined it. Clear, and it didn't smell funny either. I held the glass up.

"What is in this water?" Umbridge's eyes widened a bit.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Gr!"

***Smash*** The glass shattered in my hand, a few small cuts bleeding lightly.

"I will handle this, Mr. Taiki." Dumbledore stood up, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I will call for you when everything is solved." He waved his wand over my hand, a simple healing spell to stop the bleeding. He had us step outside of his office and wait. After a few minutes of trying to calm myself, I looked over at Akumu. She looked miserable.

"Has it worn off yet?"

"I want her hanging from the highest tower on this forsaken castle." I blinked.

"...Still not sure." She glared at me then sighed.

"I don't feel like dropping my darkest secrets in your lap. So whatever she put in my drink must've worn out."

"Good. Too bad it's a little late for that." I went to scratch my head, and felt my wand sheath move. "Crapbaskets."

"What?"

"We didn't take our wands."

"I! You! Augh!"

"Probably for the best though. We might blast a hole in a wall."

"Or through her." She growled.

"Yeah, let's not do that."

"And say we did?" I rolled my head slightly.

"Whatever makes you happy." I stood up. "Come on, I wanna see what the Dining Hall is like."

"Can't we just call a house elf?" I smirked, knowing what would get her moving.

"We could. Or we could scare High 'n Pompous." Knowing who I was referring to, she grinned.

"Well, why didn't you say that in the first place. Let's go check out the Dining Hall." She hopped up and we started walking.

"Any idea on how to scare Princey?"

"I've got so many." I raised an eyebrow.

"Been planning since we first met him eh?"

"You have your hobbies, I have mine." She said matter-of-factly. I snorted.

"Please, that's not a hobby, that's a task on the side." I lazily waved my hand in the air. "I've got a few myself. Think of them when I'm bored."

"Oh really? Let's hear it then."

"Uh-uh."

"What? And why not?"

"'Cause when we actually do it, you'd claim it was your idea." She placed her and on her heart and stage gasped.

"How could you think so lowly of me! I am horribly offended."

"Couldn't fool a blind, deaf man with that act."

***Conk***

"Jerk."

"Ow?" I rubbed the back of my head. We climbed a staircase and arrived at a massive pair of French doors. "Ready?"

"Is Sparky a lizard?"

"Not giving you the satisfaction of a response." She snorted and we pushed open the doors. The bustling hall turned and looked at us. I leaned over and spoke out of the side of my mouth. "...And the crowd goes silent..." She shifted in her stance slightly, trying to keep a straight face.

"I hate you." My face showed a feral grin as harsh whispers began to wash through the crowd. Professor McGonagall stood up, taking the Headmaster's place while he was away.

"Well isn't this a nice surprise. If you two would come forward please?" I started over to her, Akumu following after moments hesitation. We made it to the front, where I bowed my head slightly to the woman. I turned to face the crowd, almost shivering from feeling the hundreds of gazes. Akumu followed my lead, albeit not as smooth, and I slightly leaned towards her again.

"Still hate people being able to boss you around?" I kept my eyes forward, scanning the crowd.

"I was the leader of a gang. I 'kicked out' anyone who tried."

"Fair enough." I decided not to think about it that much. Professor McGonagall stepped up next to us, raising her hand to gather attention and order.

"As I see everyone is listening intently, thank you, by the way, I would like to introduce two guests. They are Rai Taiki and Akumu Tanaka." She gestured to us in turn. "These two are under Headmaster Dumbledore's care, and as such, is off limits to any mistreatment." She looked pointedly over at the table covered in red and gold. A couple of familiar red heads stood out, pretending to look appalled. I snuck a wave at them when the Professor wasn't looking. They nodded back slyly. Professor McGonagall continued. "As these two are guests, I expect each of you to be on your best behavior. Failure to do so will result in loss of House Points." A few students groaned. "This is nothing new," She stated, "So don't think it is just while they are here." A few more groaned and I chuckled. The Professor shot me a side glance and I ducked my head slightly. Man, she was practiced in that look. "That will be all, return to your meals as lunch is over soon." She turned and ushered us over to a few empty seats at the end of the table. Akumu took the end seat, so I sat next to this really large man. He turned to me.

"'Ello there! The name's 'Agrid. Rubeus 'Agrid. I'm the Care for Magical Creatures Professor and groundskeeper fer 'Ogwarts." Decyfering his thick accent took me half a second, but I was pretty sure I got it. I took his massive hand, feeling the strength behind it as it completely swallowed mine.

"Well it's good to meet you Rubeus."

"Oh please, call me 'Agrid."

"Hagrid it is then. As I'm sure you've heard, my name is Rai and this is Akumu."

"It's nice to meet such a wonderful young lady." She blushed like crazy as she shook his hand.

"Um, it's good to meet you too." She was feeling beyond awkward. Plates appeared in front of us, along with a feast.

"Wow. That's, a lot of food." I snagged a few things and began eating, Hagrid keeping the polite conversation going. Akumu avoided eye contact, chipping in only when talked to directly. She was grabbing rather small portions.

"So yer from out of town, where did ya come from?"

"Oh, another country, if you couldn't tell by the accent."

"Really? That's fascinatin'! And what are ya here for?"

"It was kind of an unexpected drop in, we are just lucky the Headmaster is kind enough to let us stay for a while." Hagrid nodded.

"Oh Dumbledore is a big ole softy, kind of like me. He couldn't let ya wander around. That's why I'm still here." A large bell went off throughout the school. "Oh! That'd be my cue to leave. I'll be heading out to prepare fer class." He stood up, and up, and up. "Oh! There's an idea! Why don't ya join my class today? We'll be going over the Thestrals. Very misunderstood creatures." I tilted my head.

"Well, I will ask Professor McGonagall if that is allowed. If so, I'm interested." Hagrid nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. See ya there." He walked off. I glanced at Akumu, who was still huddled around her plate.

"You alright?"

"Bad memories." She slowly uncurled herself, letting out a slow breath. I glanced around to notice only a Professor clothed in all black staring at us, no, her. I kept eye contact as I quietly placed my hand on her back, squinting at him.

'Who are you? And why are you so intrigued by Akumu?' We both broke eye contact at the same time. I finished up my meal and stood up, calmly walking behind the table to where Professor McGonagall was sitting.

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall?" She paused her conversation with another teacher.

"Yes dear?"

"Hagrid invited us to go to his class today. Would that be allowed?" She thought for a moment, but was interrupted by the man in black. He spoke low and slow, in a dramatic, monotone voice.

"If you wish to maintain some serious injury, then by all means." I lowered my brow at him. Professor McGonagall retorted.

"Severus, that was uncalled for." McGonagall turned to me. "I'll admit, it wasn't a shock you asked. Hagrid is a very friendly person. But I do warn you, sometimes his creatures can be a bit...strange."

"They're magical creatures, I'm sure we'll be fine." She gave me an over the glasses look. "We will be careful." She sighed and pointed a smile at me.

"Hagrid's class is out near his hut on the grounds. It shouldn't be too difficult to find. Just be careful." I nodded.

"We will, and thank you Professor." I walked back over to Akumu, who had finished eating and was awkwardly sitting there. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she stood up. "We can go to Hagrid's class." I tilted my head. "You want to?" She hesitated, and her head was bowed slightly. "...Akumu?" She looked up at me through her hair, a bit of emotion showing in them.

"Rai." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"What's wrong?"

"...That man in black...I...I think I know him." I blinked.

"Did you meet him in the halls at some point?"

"No. I...not from this world..." My eyebrows shot up, and my voice almost went to full speaking volume before I reined it in.

"What?! Wait. Hold that thought." I grasped her arm and we walked down the middle of the Dining Hall. I snapped a look at anyone who stared for more than a second as we passed. We stepped out the doors and rounded a corner. "What do you mean?"

"Rai, that man looks like my brother." I almost stumbled.

"What?!" She flinched.

"...I don't know..."

"Akumu...?" I turned slightly and noticed a shoe peeking around the corner. Someone wasn't good at hiding. I stormed over and heard them run off. I came around the corner and saw no one. "Hmm..." I walked back to Akumu. "Akumu, since when do you have a brother?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Gosh, sorry I didn't upload yesterday, I start college tomorrow and I'm kinda-only-just-a-little-bit-FREAKIN' OUT! To put it in perspective, I graduated High School in '16. So it's been four years since I've had class. I have no idea how I'm going to do! I'm also worried I won't have time to work on this very much, so I'm not sure how long the gaps between updates will be...*Sad face***

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**~Silverleone**

"It's. A long story." Akumu said.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and directed her towards the front of the castle.

"Well, we have time to talk. Class doesn't start for a while." We found an empty classroom and sat down to talk. She explained how growing up, it was just her and her brother. He was older than her by quite a few years, but he insisted she was his sister, and not his daughter or something else. She was shocked they were still alive at most points, having been living on the streets.

"...The horror of it starts about 5 years ago. We were scavenging in an alleyway. We, being idiots, didn't check for an escape route, and got cornered by some strange guys. He fought them with everything he had, even taking down three out of the four. I was too small to fight guys like that. That's when the fourth guy just pointed his hand and shouted something. My brother turned to me, calling my name as a blood red light hit him in the back. He immediately dropped, dead. The man pointed at me, then sighed and walked off." She quickly wiped a single tear that fell, sniffing. I could only imagine the trauma she experienced that day. "I didn't want to admit he was gone. There were no wounds on him, and his eyes were open, his face still holding the same expression as when he called my name."

"..."

"I stayed there for as long as I could, not wanting to leave him. But I had to move. The cops were coming so I couldn't stay. So I, left him." Her hair fell to cover her face as she fully opened up, letting it out. I pulled her against me, gently rubbing her back. I stayed silent as she cried. She had gone through some painful memories, and needed to release it. Eventually, her sobs slowed down. She raised her head, her eyes red. I sighed.

"Oh Akumu..." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes.

"Don't go making some snide remark. I can still kick your tail."

"I'm so glad you told me." She paused.

"...What?"

"It's never good to keep things bottled up. You need to let it out occasionally." We waited for a few minutes, before getting up. The bell had rung again just a couple of minutes ago, so we could still make it to class. "Do you want to go to class?"

"Where else are we going to go?"

"Mope in our room?"

"Yeah, no. I need some fresh air." We stepped out of the room and walked outside, feeling a cool breeze rustle our clothes. We saw a group of students standing near the edge of the forest, a small hut sitting right on the forest edge. We walked down, noticing a few students look back as we got closer. Hagrid noticed us as well and motioned us forward.

"Ah! Rai, Amuku, would you two come forward please?" We glanced at each other and stepped through. Hagrid patted our shoulders. "Alright class, we have these two 'ere joinin' us. Let's go and see the Thestrals. Stay close, we don' need ya gettin' lost." He started walking into the forest, and I followed without hesitation. Hagrid seemed to know the forest like the back of his hand and traversed over the easiest paths. Me, I like a challenge, so I jumped over creeks and flipped off tree trunks, showing off a little. I heard a few students gasp when I jumped high, grabbing a branch and swinging up into it. I surveyed the area and noticed a herd of creatures ahead. I dropped down next to Akumu, who gave me a dark smirk.

"I think you have some admirers." I smirked.

"Please, they wish they could do half that stuff." We walked into a clearing, and Hagrid turned around.

"These 'ere Thestrals are very special creatures. They can only be seen by those who have seen death." I froze and looked over at the creatures. They had a horse like body shape, but that's about where the likeness ended. Bones were sticking out everywhere. It was as if they hadn't eaten since they were born. The bones were covered by taut, leathery black skin. Large wings were folded in on their sides. A haughty voice spoke up and I groaned.

"What do you mean? There's nothing there!"

"As I said, only those who have seen death can see 'em. Oh look at tha', one is 'ere to say 'ello." A large one had wondered over. Hagrid gently scratched it under the chin, the Thestral almost chuffed. Hagrid pulled out a large slab of raw meat, tossing it at it. I blinked when it snapped it up without hesitation. I leaned over to Akumu.

"Can you see them?"

"Duh. Remember what I just talked about?"

"Right. My bad."

"Can you see them?"

"Yeah."

"How?" I did my best not to grimace.

"I think that would be pretty obvious." She winced.

"Right...my bad..."

"Oi, Rai, why don't you come over 'ere and say 'ello?" I shrugged.

"Sure." I stepped forward, making eye contact with the black creature. It snorted and turned to me. I raised my hand slowly. It sniffed my hand, sticking its tongue out and licking it. It snorted again and I smiled, petting its bony jaw. "You are incredible..."

"Right you are. Now, who else can see 'em?" A few raised their hands. "A'ight, I'm going to let you lot go first, so you can help the others who can't see. Rai, will ya help?"

"Yeah, I'd love to." I motioned to the nearest student with their hand up. She was young and carefree, almost skipping up to the Thestral. Bouncy blonde curls fell around her shoulders. She held out her hand to me, which I shook. She spoke with an airy voice.

"Luna Lovegood. Though others call me crazy." I raised an eyebrow and decided this girl was either insane(welcome to the party) or delusional. "Don't worry about me, I already know these ones. I'll go find a little colt I found wandering the halls one day. Very playful." She bounced off and I hesitated in stopping her. Hagrid motioned to not worry about it so I turned to the crowd.

"Who can't see them?" A stressed looking young man stepped forward, and I grabbed his hand when he blindly shoved it into the Thestrals face.

"Calmly, and slowly. Otherwise you might get bit." The young man hesitated but nodded. I helped to guide his hand towards the Thestrals nose as it stood still. The student flinched slightly when it bumped his hand, breathing hot air over it. He placed his whole hand on its bony nose, his eyes widening in awe. He ran his hand over it, bringing the other one up as well.

"I-it feels like, leather?"

"They are really thin and bony. Their skin is black and stretched over them. They have wings too."

"Is it a pegasus?"

"Looks kind of like one. But I doubt riding one would be very comfortable." The Thestral bumped me with its nose. "No offense intended." I pet its jaw. "Alright, next." The boy stepped away and another student, female, stepped up. I guided their hand to the creature, only for them to jerk back when they touched it.

"Oh! What is that?" I put my hand on the Thestral's nose to keep it calm.

"The Thestrals are horse-like creatures."

"...Sorry...I didn't expect it. I've never been around wild animals before."

"It's all right, take your time."

She slowly raised her hand, then did something that blew me away. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. I froze.

'That's Hiccup's thing! How does she know that?!' The Thestral placed its nose in her hand, snorting lightly. She opened her eyes in wonder and noticed me staring.

"Are you okay?" I mentally slapped myself out of it.

"Oh, yeah, s-sorry. Just got lost in thought." I caught the heat of a glare from Akumu and snapped one at her when the girl wasn't looking. The student smiled and ran her hand blindly down the Thestral's neck.

"Wow. They are really bony. ...Are they getting enough to eat?" I looked to Hagrid, who had keyed into the conversation a little earlier.

"Aye. They get plenty o' food, I make sure o' that."

"That's good. But why are they so skinny?" Hagrid paused, and I cut in.

"It's probably because they can't pack that much weight on their wings as easily. They've probably adapted to being naturally skinny."

"Aye, right you are Rai! Couldn't o' said it better myself." He went back to his own Thestral, bring up the next student. I went through a few more before I saw Princey walk over, stopping a few feet from me.

"Bet there isn't actually anything there."

"I would, but I don't gamble." He titled his head, confused. "Sorry, foreign term. Now come on." He stalked forward and stared straight ahead, I guess wanting to stare down the Thestral. Only problem was, Hagrid had dropped another slab of meat so its head wasn't where it normally would sit. I almost snickered and patted the Thestral on the neck, making it raise its head. "Now you're staring it down."

"I don't think there is anything there." He lazily swung his arm out, which I slapped away before he hit the Thestral, making it mad. "Oi!"

"You almost slapped it. Don't make these guys mad, alright." He glared at me

"Then there really is nothing there. If you're so insistent upon it, prove it." The Thestral glanced at me and stepped forward, head butting him and knocking him over. "Oof! What was that?!"

"Proof." He scrambled to his feet, glaring at anyone who dared laugh.

"That wasn't proof of anything." I rolled my eyes.

"You are so thick-headed." He turned red in the face and reached into his robes. "Don't. Even. Think about it." He froze. "There is a herd of magical creatures you can't see standing behind me. Hit one of them, and being expelled will be your last worry." We stared off until he slowly lowered his hand. He took a breath and glared at an empty space.

"Bloody creatures." That did it. The Thestral reared up and just about roared, I leaped forward and tackled Malfoy.

"You moron!" Luckily I hit him hard enough to knock us both out of the way. The other students gasped, but I ignored them. I scrambled to my feet and held my hands up, trying to calm down the creature before someone got hurt.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. It's alright. Calm down." It snorted and stomped its hoof. I placed my hand on its nose, calming it down as I looked it in the eye.

"OI! WHAT GIVES Y-!" I rounded on Malfoy, my presence very oppressive. I may be shorter than him by a few inches, but I could easily floor him again.

"You see those?" I pointed at two deep impressions in the earth. "That would have been your skull if I hadn't moved." He went from red to pale rather quickly. "Go to the back of the class now and take some time to cool off. Otherwise I might not be able to stop the Thestral next time you insult it." He returned to his red color and stormed off. Hagrid walked over.

"Blimey Rai, that was some quick thinkin'. You a'ight?"

"Frazzled, but yeah I'm fine." The Thestral nudged me, looking sorry. I patted its neck. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault he's a baka." The Thestral snorted and nudged me again, then walked off to rejoin the herd. Akumu walked over to me, keeping her voice low.

"You shouldn't have stopped it."

"I didn't need Umbridge coming at me or Hagrid for the death of an idiot." She snorted.

"What's she gonna do? Make you wear a pink scarf?" I shuddered in pure horror.

"Don't say that! You'll speak it into existence!" She grinned darkly. "You're cruel. Stop it." She sauntered off, walking over to pet a Thestral with another student. The bushy-haired girl from a couple of days before walked over to me.

"Hello again."

"Hello again. Sorry, I'm terrible with names."

"That's alright, Hermione Granger. And you're Rai Taiki, correct?" I nodded.

"Yup. So, can you see them?" I gestured to the Thestral herd. She shook her head.

"I've seen pictures of them in the library, but I've never gotten to see them in person."

"Consider yourself lucky. Wanna meet one by touch at least?" She nodded.

"They aren't dangerous, are they?"

"Only to a blonde who adds hair to his gel every morning." She took half a second, then slapped her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"That is terrible!" I shrugged nonchalantly.

"But not untrue. Back on topic, here comes our next Thestral." What was probably the largest one was walking up. Its back stood over my head. I reached up and petted its nose. It snorted and moved directly over to Hermione. "Careful bud, she can't see you. Here." I took her hand and held it up. It breathed on it for a second before calling lightly, pushing into it. Hermione gasped at the feeling. It snorted and ducked its head, pushing into her stomach gently. "Wow, this one likes you." Hermione nodded, blindly feeling the tight skin.

"I guess so." She gently ran her hands along its neck. She found its wing and it raised it out partially, careful of any other people. She felt the leathery skin stretching along the bones. "Wow, this is, amazing." The Thestral nickered and bumped her from behind. She turned around and reached out, placing her hands on its nose. "You are incredible." It snorted and I blinked when it bent its forelegs, dropping to its knees. Hagrid looked over and laughed.

"'Ermione, I think 'e wants to give ya a ride!" Hermione looked at Hagrid in horror.

"What?! A ride? Um. I don't do heights very well." I chuckled and patted the Thestral on its neck. It shook its head and looked at me. I winked at it.

"Hagrid, I think she means she can't get on it easily. Would you mind giving her a boost?"

"Well o' course. Up ya go!" Before she could protest, Hagrid grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her up, ignoring her squeal of surprise and panic. The Thestral stood up before she could get off, making her hold on. I chuckled as she yelped.

"Hagrid! Let me down!" I laughed and patted the Thestral.

"Can you carry two of us?" It snorted and fluttered its wings. I jumped up, using a knee to boost myself, and swung my leg over its back, settling in right behind Hermione.

"Rai?! What are you doing?!"

"Making sure you can enjoy this! Alright! Let's go!" I'd been itching to fly for a while.

"Rai! I swear! If you don't let me down-!" Her breathe hitched in her throat.

"And I swear, if you don't stop shouting, I'm going to go deaf." I stared at her as she glared at me. The Thestral called out and walked forward, the crowd of students parting much like the Red Sea, the ones who could see it moving the others back. I settled in, grateful I knew how to ride thanks to a certain dragon. "Alright, whatever you do, remember to breathe." Panic renewed her lungs and she made it well known.

"Rai! Stop! Let me down!"

"Oh come on, he offered. You gonna be rude and reject this gift?"

"Rai!" She jumped when tight muscles shifted, its wings spreading out. It flapped them and started trotting, then cantering, soon it was in a full-on sprint, running up the hill. Hermione's shouting was increasing in volume. The Thestral hit the top of the hill and leaped, flapping its wings. I whooped as Hermione let out a large scream. We took to the skies as she ducked her head, closing her eyes. We leveled out and flew over the lake. Luckily there was only a calm breeze, so we had a smooth flight. I tapped Hermione on the shoulder.

"What?!"

"Open your eyes."

"No! Take me back!"

"Hermione. We're not even 10 feet off the ground." She hesitated, but slowly raised her head. She gasped when she saw we were flying low over the lake.

"W-what?"

"Kind of cool, isn't it?" I leaned sideways, reaching down as the Thestral swooped low. I dug my hand into the cold water and splashed it on her, making her squeal.

"I'm going to _hex you_ once we're off this thing!" I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, alright, let's take her back." The Thestral called out and banked around, flapping hard to gain some speed. We flew back to the bank and landed smoothly. We trotted back to the edge of the forest, moving back into the herd. A large bell sounded in the distance and a few students groaned. I hopped off the Thestral as Hagrid lifted Hermione off, setting her down. She stormed over to me as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"I ought to hex you into oblivion!" I winced at the wand at my throat. Someone called out behind her.

"Hermione! No!" I cracked an eye.

"You wouldn't hex a wandless guy with glasses, would ya?" She glared at me.

"...Ask Harry." I glanced at the kid, who made a _'cut it out' _motion. I slowly raised my hands.

"Alright. I'm sorry. ...Did you at least enjoy the ride?" She reaffirmed her glare, then dropped her arm.

"It...wasn't...terrible." She turned and walked away without another word, grabbing Ron and Harry by the arms and heading to the castle. I slumped against a tree, sighing. Akumu walked up to me.

"Almost lost you there."

"Almost lost my head." I rubbed my neck, still feeling the spot where the wand was pressed into it. Hagrid placed a massive hand on my shoulder.

"Now ya know not ta mess with her, doncha? There's nothing scarier than an angry witch who knows her magic." I chuckled.

"Noted, highlighted, and bookmarked." He laughed as the students filed back to the castle. Akumu and I followed as she occasionally broke into a smile, giggling a little. "Alright chucklehead, get it out before we get back to Dumbledore's office." She snapped a glare at me, to which I crossed my eyes. She rolled her's at me and pushed the doors open. We walked through the hallways, the air around us light. ...Until a dark presence turned the corner. Dark, and blindingly bright all at once.

"Hem hem."

"Umbridge." I said curtly.

"I believe that you forgot 'Professor', young man." I decided to drop one of my philosophies on her.

"I have two kinds of respect, the first, I give to anyone and everyone. The second, people earn over time. I'm afraid you haven't earned the second kind. And you very quickly dashed the first to pieces." She looked shocked that I would speak to her with such boldness.

"Whatever do you mean?" I held up my hand, raising one finger at a time.

"You broke into our room. Stole my necklace. Tried to attack us. Then sicced the Minister of Magic on us." I had four fingers up, and she went slightly paler at each one. She coughed into her fist and straightened her jacket.

"It was for the-!" I held up my hand.

"Professor, Umbridge," My patience was running very thin. I had been in long, grueling interrogations before, but this was the shortest my patience had ever been, the foul interactions with her spoiling any chance for her to gain my trust. Which I would only come to understand why much later. "I was trained by the top government agency to read people who have far better acting than you. To me, compared to them, you are like reading a common novel." She looked appalled.

"How-! Did you just refer to me as parchment?!" I shook my head.

"I did not. I meant that I can tell when you are trying to hide something. And you are trying to hide a lot." A dark look came over her.

"Mr. Taiki, I warn you to be careful of how you speak to me." I shifted my stance, deciding to go against everything I had been trained to do.

I was going to negotiate with the enemy.

"Professor Umbridge, we will not have any problems as long as we avoid conflict. I do not cause trouble unnecessarily. We do not speak to each other; you will not have to worry about me." She huffed and stared me down for a moment, then held out her hand. I looked at it and blinked when I saw our wands. I took hold of them, but she held a firm grip. I made eye contact with her.

"I am holding you to this, Mr. Taiki. The Headmaster explained your situation. And while I am not fully pleased with it, it appears that you will be staying here for the time being." I raised an eyebrow as she released her grip.

"And what exactly did he tell you?"

"Simply you are boarding students from outside of this country, wanting to learn more until you need to go home." She gave me her signature smile and walked past. Once she was out of sight, I handed Akumu her wand and collapsed against the wall.

"It took every fiber of my being not to punch her in the face." I sheathed my wand, a slight hum coming from it before I let go. Akumu did the same and we continued walking.

"...Did you just negotiate with the enemy?"

"Had to break every rule in the book to do it." I said without looking at her.

"You really are desperate."

"Desperate for a moment of peace that is." She 'hmmd' and we entered our room. I collapsed onto the armchair and she dropped onto the couch, both of us exhausted. I closed my eyes.

"...So how was the ride with the bushy-haired girl?"

"Hermione?"

"Oh, so NOW you remember her name." I didn't move, trying not to leap at her.

"...Akumu?"

"Yeah?"

"Shaddap." I said with a harmless scowl.

««{{¤}}»»

"Wait. You want us, to attend classes, here?" Akumu asked the Headmaster.

"That is correct."

"HAH!"

"Akumu please." I said, my head bowing slightly as she laughed. Dumbledore had invited us to the Dining Hall for dinner and was discussing our stay. He had mentioned that because we both have access to magic, it would be good to learn. "Professor, I appreciate the offer, but don't you think it would be a little distracting to have us in the classes?"

"Nonsense, I think the Professors would love to help you learn. Isn't that right Severus?" I looked over at the greasy brooder and saw him roll his eyes while blinking, hiding it from all who weren't looking for it. He turned to us. When he did so, I noticed Akumu's face grew shadowed.

"...As long as they, are competent enough, to follow, basic. Instructions..." I smiled. He was the Potions Professor. His speech could put a grandfather clock to sleep, which is probably why so many students messed up their potions.

"If you would prefer it, Professor Snape, we could sit in the back and take notes. Then we aren't wasting your supplies and you don't have to worry about us screwing up. We won't need the extensive knowledge of potions, so there is no reason to waste precious resources on us." He was silent for a minute.

"...That would be...acceptable..." I nodded, a small smile on my face. I turned back to Dumbledore.

"Well, we might as well learn." Akumu glowered at me and I shot a look at her. I was in a fairly good mood after riding the Thestral, and I wanted to stay on that high as long as possible. After all, it's not like I could fly with Tesla or Sting anymore.

_'Crapbaskets. There it goes.'_ I imagined my good mood flying away. _'No...come back...'_ I groaned mentally, only to blink when my imaginative mood turned around and changed into an owl. _'Well. That's new...'_ I yelped when I realized it was an actual owl, a snowy owl to be exact. It landed on the edge of the table, dropping a note. I reached over and picked up the note, only for the owl to chitter at me, eyeing the food. I raised an eyebrow and gave it a small piece of meat from my plate. It snapped it up and chittered a thanks before taking off out of the hall. I shook my head and started to untie the note. Before I could even read it, I felt eyes on me, and my own eyes shifted over to the Gryffindor table. The dark-haired boy with glasses from earlier was staring at me. I quickly read the note.

_'Hello again,_

_Quick note, be careful of Snape, you can imagine why he is the Slytherin Head of House._

_Second, meet me here about an hour after dinner. There is something we need to show you._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter'_

I looked back to the boy, who nodded at me. I nodded back and folded up the note, tucking it in my coat pocket. Akumu leaned over.

"Is he stalking you?"

"More like he's got something to tell us, from what it sounds like." I turned back to the Headmaster. "We will attend classes, if it is not too much trouble."

"Wonderful! We will set up your schedule immediately."


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is a little longer than the rest, so I hope you enjoy! Also, are a lot of you going back to read Chance Untamed? Because that is still getting an INSANE amount of views. it's almost at 19,000 views in total and that's more than I had ever dreamed of. So thank you to all who have contributed, whether in large ways or small ways, it really means a lot!**

**~Silverleone**

After getting our schedules sorted out, we sat in the Hall, waiting for Harry to get there. I was fiddling with my wand while reading a spell book for beginners. The Headmaster had given us permission to get the curriculum for the first half of the year, since it was already Spring. We were going to be with the first years and see how well we could catch up. I myself was intrigued by all of this, and so I wanted to read as much as possible. Akumu, on the other hand, couldn't care less and was laying on the bench across from me, meditating. I read over a simple levitation charm and raised an eyebrow.

_'Wing-guardia...guardium...Leviosa? Interesting.'_ I sat up, having been lying prone on the bench I was on, and looked around. Seeing nothing, I decided to try and use the book. I set it on the bench and scooted back a little, pointing my wand at it, I followed the wand pattern while doing my best pronunciation.

"Winguardium Leviosa." Nothing happened for a split second, then I felt a rush of energy snap down my arm and into my wand, making it hum. A light appeared from the tip of the wand, and it slowly lifted the book off the bench. I felt my chest tighten and I did my best not to shout in my excitement. "Akumu! Akumu look!"

"What now? Huh?!" She sat up as I lifted my wand slightly, the book following.

"I did it!"

"Rai, that's awesome." I slowly lowered the book back down to the bench and felt the rush of energy break. I lowered my wand; I could feel my wand humming, almost like it was proud of me. I raised an eyebrow in thought when the large doors swung open. I quickly sheathed my wand, making it look like I was scratching my neck, when Harry peaked into the room and saw us. He walked over and shook our hands.

"Hello again."

"Yes, hello. Harry right?"

"Right. And it's, Rai and, pardon, I forgot."

"Akumu." She stated shortly. I nudged her when Harry quickly glanced away, not liking the tension.

"Right, Akumu. Can I trust you two?" I waved my hand lazily in the air.

"Depends. Are you pulling a prank? Then probably. Anything else? We need to hear it first." He motioned to the benches, so we sat down. He looked nervous and his line of sight was constantly on the rounds.

'_This is more than a simple prank…'_

"Alright...Just, please don't tell anyone. Especially not Professor Umbridge." I snorted.

"Please, I could keep a secret from her if it was the key to my worst enemy's house and she hated them." Harry raised an eyebrow but shook it off.

"Good. Because if she found out, she would probably hex me into oblivion." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Alright, spill. I'm interested." Harry looked around and stepped towards the doors.

"It's better for you to see it for yourselves." Akumu and I glanced at each other before following.

Harry led us down a seemingly random path, and I almost got turned around, but I was able to keep track of it. Soon he stopped at an empty hall and stopped.

"Wait here for a second." He walked down the hall, only to turn around and come back. He looked like he was deep in thought. When he got to us, he turned around without a word or glance, only to repeat the process twice more. He motioned for us to follow him, and we stepped into the middle of the hall. I looked on in shock as a door formed out of the wall itself. Once the door was formed, Harry opened it, stepping inside and waving us through. I stepped through first and looked around. Any chatter that had been going on ceased as soon as I walked in. I pretended to ignore the students and looked around the room.

"Well Harry, I must say, you sure do know how to make an entrance."

"Harry! Why are they here?!" Red Hair stepped up, his wand gripped tightly in his hand.

"Because Ron, we need as much help as we can get."

"Help with what?" I stepped into the conversation. I figured if it was going to be about me, I should be a part of it.

"We are creating an army."

"I get the feeling this isn't the army you play with in the sand box. What's going on Harry?" Hermione stepped forward.

"We need to learn how to defend ourselves. Professor Umbridge isn't doing any practical work. Those of us who need it aren't getting the help we need." I nodded and looked around the room.

"Do you happen to have a punching bag?" Everyone went silent, until Ron spoke up.

"What's that?"

"It's a bag full of sand. You punch and kick it to get stronger." Another student stepped forward. He had dark skin and eyes.

"Why would we need that?" I scoffed at the question.

"You really think that an army can win a fight using only magic?" A few students chorused a 'yes' and I shook my head. "I don't doubt they could. But wouldn't it be nice to defend yourself if you lose your wand?" Silence rang true. "That's what I thought." Harry stepped forward.

"Rai, what are you suggesting?"

"You learn Martial Arts." Another student, this one with a lighter complexion and messy hair stepped forward.

"Martial Arts? You mean? Like ninjas?"

"If you get good enough down the road, maybe."

"Don't we need a dojo?" I was happy to hear that the kid knew what he was talking about. Unlike the other student.

"Yes, that would be appropriate."

"We don't have one, but do you think the room could help?" Harry brightened up.

"Great idea Seamus!" He turned to me, "Rai, since you know what we need, think about it as hard as you can. This room is charmed to help out with that."

"O, kay?" I closed my eyes and imagined a basic dojo. I felt the floor shift slightly under my feet and a few gasps went around the room. I opened my eyes and gasped myself. The dojo I had imagined was sitting around me, with the classic paper walls and wooden beams. Akumu was just as shocked.

"Rai, the room changed."

"...Yeah." One of the students walked over to a rack full of weapons and I swiftly followed, keeping my footsteps quiet. They reached for a weapon when I gently grabbed their wrist. "Not yet." They pulled back.

"I was only going to look. Why not?"

"Because without knowing what it is, you might hurt you or someone else." I looked over at Harry. "You don't mind if I take over this part, do you?"

"Not at all. You know more than me." He seemed to be relieved no to be running the place for once, and gladly took the step down. I clapped my hands and turned to the whole room.

"Alright then. For this training session, I am the master. Now everyone, take off your robes and line up." They all hesitated and Akumu threw a knife at a gong, the handle striking the metal and making it ring.

"You heard him!" The students jumped and hurried to get their robes off. I swung my coat off my shoulders and tossed it to the side. It landed on the shelf lightly, thankfully staying there. I took off my socks and shoes, sighing as I felt the colder wood against my feet. Once they were in a line, I started with the basics.

"Alright, first thing's first. What is the point of Martial Arts?" Most of the students looked confused while Hermione raised her hand.

"It is to give someone the ability to fight with proper form." I nodded.

"General answer, yes. But Martial Arts is more than that. It is a way of life. It is how to breathe to effectively get your muscles the oxygen they need. It is how you think. Critically, with an eye for how to defeat any potential opponent before the fight even starts." I walked along the line, making sure everyone was paying attention.

"Please! I don't need to know how to fight a muggle." I stopped and turned, seeing the same dark skinned boy from earlier.

"Really? Mind demonstrating that for me?" He stepped out of line and pulled out his wand, a smirk on his face. "I will not use magic, and I will disarm you." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Hah! Stupify!" A light shot at me, which I ducked under. My center of gravity was over one leg while spreading the other out to the side. "What?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Did you really expect me to sit there and take it? I'm not an idiot, even _I_ know that would disable me, why would I let it hit me?" He shot another spell at my crouched form, which I simply frog hopped over. I rolled under the next spell and took two steps before swiftly but gently chopping his wrist, making him drop his wand. His other hand went to his wrist and he looked at me in surprise.

"Ow!" I stepped back and lowered my arms.

"You used three spells, missed all of them, and then took one hit to the back of the wrist to be disarmed." I stepped back to talk to the whole group. "This was a prime example of you witches and wizards getting too comfortable with your wands. From what I can tell, they are extremely powerful and useful, but you have gotten lazy."

"Hey! Don't call me-!"

"I could have dropped you to the floor with one more move after I disarmed you. You might have had no time to react either." I turned back to the group. "Who else would like to try?" There was a small whisper off to the side, and I turned to see Harry and Ron whispering. "Harry?" They both stiffened and looked at me. "You seem like you know what you are doing, since you appear to be running this thing. You want to try?" He hesitated, just long enough for Hermione to step up.

"I will try." I nodded and she stepped up. She raised her wand, ready, and I nodded. "Immobulus!" I rolled to the side, "Petrificus Totalus, Stupify!" I back flipped over the first and dodged around the second. "Confundus, Stupify!" I leapt over both, heading straight for her. She traced my movements well, and took a step back, giving herself more room. I dashed to the side, grateful she wasn't holding back, and killed my momentum with a flip, barely missing a spell. I leapt forward again and landed on my belly, rolling to the side. "Locomotor Mortis!" My legs snapped together, and I couldn't get them apart. One or two of the students cheered Hermione on, but the rest were worried. Out of all the spells she has thrown, only one connected.

_'Flip!'_ I rolled onto my feet and did just that right over a spell, diving under another, using my locked legs for more strength. I popped up right next to Hermione and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from pointing her wand at me.

"Done." We both paused until she nodded. She used a spell to release my legs and I turned to the rest of the students as she rejoined them. They were all in shock. "Do you see now why I wasn't afraid to say anything? Even Hermione, as skilled as a witch as you all say she is, only hit me with one spell. Think this 'muggle stuff' isn't so useful?" Harry stepped forward.

"Where do we start?"

"First thing's first, you need to run." Almost all the students opposed the thoughts vocally.

"WHAT?!" I smirked.

"You think I did all of those flips while sitting on my couch? No. I trained, and I trained hard. You all will need to be able to run for a long time in order to fight like me." I turned to Akumu. "Break into two groups?"

"Hah, like I'm going to help."

"You can run them..." She raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"You know me too well. Alright maggots let's go. Split up." They did so quickly. She pointed to the left group, which had the Golden Trio in it. "You lot are with me. We start with running. Lose the ties and any heels. They won't help you." I turned to my group.

"First thing first, do as she said. Lose the extra stuff that will restrict your movements." The guys basically tore their ties off, while the girls hesitated in removing their shoes. I stepped over to a shelf against the wall, seeing a couple of useful things. "Perfect." I grabbed a sand timer set for 10 minutes and stepped back to the middle of the room. Akumu was leading her group over to the track that was opposite of us, unseen until she opened the wall up. "Alright, let's start with something simple. Meditation. Sit in a semicircle around me please." They all nodded and sat down. I nodded once they were situated. "Meditation is used to calm the mind and body. It allows your natural energy to flow easier by opening pathways that have been blocked due to stress and other aspects of life." I sat down and crossed my legs, setting the timer in front of me.

"Copy my position if you can, if not, find something close that feels comfortable." A few students could fully cross their legs, while others were not too far off. "Good. Place your hands on your knees or in your lap and close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good. Keep breathing at that pace. Now, focus on the top of your head."

««{{¤}}»»

I smiled as I brought most of them out of the meditation phase. One of the students had fallen asleep, his chin against his chest. One of the other students wanted to shout in his ear, but I stopped him.

"I'll wake him up." I stood up and walked over. I pressed my pointer finger against his dropped forehead and gently pushed his head upright. I help up my right hand. "Wake up." I snapped my fingers and his eyes opened. "Morning. You have a good nap?" He just blushed and stuttered out a sorry. I stood up and helped him to his feet. "Don't worry about it. I fell asleep when I was first starting too." I turned to the rest of the class. "Don't be ashamed if you fall asleep, that just means you aren't getting a full night's rest and your body is taking advantage of your relaxed state." I smirked when I listened in on the other group. "Shall we see how the other group is doing?" A few chuckles went through the group. I walked over and opened the wall, laughing at the situation on the other side. All of the students were on the floor, moaning. Akumu looked peeved and turned the look onto me.

"This is pathetic." I snorted at her comment.

"What'd you do?"

"I made them do the basic runs and push-ups. Honestly, I've never seen anyone run so short of a distance." I smiled, remembering that that's how I was when first starting out. I couldn't even run 1/4 mile without feeling ready to puke.

"Alright, switch off." My group groaned. "Oh knock it off. Soon you'll be able to outrun any wizard in this dimen-country!" I kicked myself mentally for almost dropping that phrase. I took the tired group into the other room and sat them down. Once I got everyone to settle their breathing, I noticed Hermione was still tense. "Relax Hermione, you won't be able to meditate properly if you are fidgety." She opened her eyes.

"It's just, we do have curfew." I pulled out my pocket watch and looked at the time.

"Right. We'll get out of here on time, don't you worry." She nodded and closed her eyes. After a minute she seemed to breathe out the frustration and her body loosened up.

_'Good, she's learning.'_ I slipped into meditation myself, focusing on the energy around me. I could hear the sand in the timer sifting through it. I could feel the heartbeat of each person as electricity zipped through their bodies. I breathed out slowly, finishing at the same time as the timer. I opened my eyes and gave them the instructions to come back to reality.

Harry had us stand at the door and officially greet to everyone as they walked out. Once the last person left, the trio walked us out of the room. The door shrunk until it became a regular sized broom closet. Harry shook our hands, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Thank you for teaching us, even if I won't be able to move tomorrow." I nodded.

"No problem, I love teaching people who are willing to learn. Also, stretching and a lot of water will help with the soreness." He nodded.

"Got it." Ron stretched his aching arms over his head.

"Blimey, this is what you lot do all day?"

"Not all day, but we spar once or twice if we have time."

"I must admit, I didn't know what being, out of shape was, until today." I smirked at Hermione.

"Believe me, Akumu was going easy on you. She could've started chucking knives." All three of them nearly passed out.

"Bloody hell!"

"What?!"

"That is so dangerous!" I held a finger up and motioned them into one of the halls. I peeked around the corner and saw Umbridge walking along at her quick pace. She was looking around and scrunching her nose at everything. I turned to the others.

"Time to scat cats." Hermione was about to make an objection, but I cut her off, my voice just above a whisper. "It's curfew time." Her eyes widened and the three of them took off quietly. I hooked my arm around Akumu and dragged her back around the corner into Umbridge's line of sight. "Oh! Hello Professor!" She jumped, not expecting us to be there.

"Mr. Taiki. Miss Tanaka. What are you doing out so late?"

"Just a stroll. If we are going to participate in the classes, we should at least know where they are." She smiled.

"Well, I can see why. Hogwarts could use some...renovations..." Almost on que, the large castle creaked as it settled. But it almost sounded like it was protesting. I ran my hand over the rock on the wall.

"I think it gives Hogwarts the true magical vibe. I like it."

"Yes, well. Certain health codes must be met if this is to be a proper school."

"Well, you're not wrong. We don't need the kids getting sick." I lifted my hand from off the wall, almost jumping when I felt a tiny spark of magic. I knew it was different than electricity, because it shot straight to my core instead of continuing down through my feet.

'_What was…?'_

"Well, I would suggest that you are off to bed. After all, if you are going to be students, you should obey the rules." There was a glint in her eye.

"Agreed. Akumu?" We hooked arms and walked off without another word.

"...I'm going to puke." I grimaced.

"Same. She's too pink." We both shuddered.

««{{Three Weeks Later}}»»

"Come here!"

"Would ya chill out! Ah!"

"Not until I have you pinned! Rah!"

"Yikes! I thought this was sparring, not MMA! Oof!" I hit the ground as Akumu tackled me. She brushed the hair out of her face and smirked.

"Pinned ya." I grunted and threw her off of me, rolling away into a crouch. I jumped to avoid her and took a few quick steps back. She sent a flying kick my way and I rolled back, catching her heel with mine to redirect her past me. She rolled and popped back onto her feet, bouncing lightly. "Bring it Taiki!" I spun to my feet and took a breath. We had been going for almost an hour at the edge of the forest, and she said bag it with techniques after about 45 minutes. I lowered my arms a little.

"Wait up, we got a visitor."

"Huh?" I picked up a rock and turned, chucking it at a tree. There was a solid ***thwack*** followed by a yelp. A red haired girl stepped out from behind the tree, her face slightly pale.

"Ginny Weasley, if I remember correctly." She was one of the ones in Harry's secret army. Also the younger sister of Ron.

"Yes sir."

"May I ask why you are stalking us? Also, drop the sir." She seemed hesitant, and I gave her a moment to build up the courage.

"I...I wanted to learn how to fight!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Ginny, we are already teaching you." She glared at me.

"You haven't taught me anything! All you've done is run us till our feet fall off and make us sit still for an hour. How is that going to help?!" To be fair, it had been a while since we joined their DA group, and while they were progressing well, most of them hadn't moved on from the first two steps.

"It will make you stronger, faster, and more balanced. Mentally and Physically Once we've accomplished that, then we can move on to actual fighting."

"Why not now?" I sighed.

"Punch me." She pulled back a little, her eyes widening.

"What?"

"Punch me. See if you can land a hit."

"I'm not going to-!" I lazily cut through the air with an arm.

"Do it." I stared her down. She grimaced and stepped forward, throwing a lopsided punch. I leaned, rotating around the fist. Ginny lost her balance and fell onto her knees. I held out my hand and she took it, standing up. "You don't have a lot of balance. Meanwhile..." I spun and reverse kicked at Akumu, who simply blocked the faux attack with a forearm, neither of us blinking at the move. Ginny gasped. "I have done the basics, for years mind you, before I ever learned to properly fight." I said as a slowly lowered my leg. Ginny ducked her head a little, ashamed. I placed my hand on her shoulder. "We're going to keep teaching you all. In your free time, go running. You'll get a leg up on the rest of them." She looked up at me.

"It's not going to be instant, is it?"

"Sadly there isn't magic that can teach you patience and willpower." I said that just to keep her from looking. If there was, I would find out quickly. Dumbledore had given us a free pass to the library to catch up, as we were halfway through the semester anyways. I needed to make sure there wasn't anything these kids to use as drugs to boost their performance. So far all I found was a spell that energized you, but that was a counter to Stupify. I needed to look into potions still but attending Snape's class had been a drag. The most exciting thing happening was a cauldron exploding, nearly taking out its unfortunate user. Other than that, pretty boring class.

"...Fine...any tips for running?" I looked to Akumu, who had been the one watching them. She spoke up without resisting.

"Breathe evenly and loosen up, you're too tense. Also, don't think about running, pay attention to your surroundings. It won't do you any good to be able to run ten miles only get killed in the first three by running off a cliff." Ginny blinked and nodded. I did as well, apricating the fact that Akumu was being helpful.

"I'll try it. Thank you." She started to walk off, but I stopped her.

"Hey Ginny, don't give up. It's worth it to keep trying." She nodded and smiled a little before walking off, a bounce in her step. I watched her go for a while, then turned around, only to get a fist to the face. I hit the ground with a shout. "Akumu! What the-!" I rolled as a foot came down, landing where my head used to be. I scrambled to my feet.

"Too slow Taiki!" She tackled me and we rolled a little before I twisted out of her grip.

"Would ya quit it!" I blocked an arm and barely grazed her cheek with a straight shot. I pulled back and kicked out her knee, making her roll backwards. I turned and booked it for the castle, seeing Ginny almost at the large doors. "Open the door! Open the door!" I heard Akumu break through the brush and sprint after me. Sadly she had more endurance than me, but I had more speed. I sprinted up the hill as Ginny opened the doors, looking kind of worried as I barely made it inside before Akumu tackled me again. We hit the floor rolling and I threw myself away, coughing when I hit the wall behind me. I dropped to the ground, panting. "Alright! I cede!" Akumu got up, smirking wildly.

"I win again."

"I don't know what changed, but I can't seem to win any more."

"I guess because I'm no longer blinded by rage and hatred?"

"I guess." We said goodbye to Ginny again and walked off, ready for some lunch. We walked on down the hall, now used to the stares.

««{{¤}}»»

"Well children, how are your classes going?" Dumbledore asked as we sat down at the table. I leaned forward so I could speak to him face to face.

"It is all very interesting, to say the least. I've learned how to make something float already just through my own studies."

"It sounds like you two are having a good time learning. Minerva, how are they doing in Transfiguration?"

"Quite well Albus. They are both well behaved and listen better than some of my other students." Dumbledore clapped his hands lightly.

"Wonderful." He turned back to us. "I hope you stay long enough to learn as much as possible." I hid a frown at that comment.

"Don't forget Headmaster, we still have no idea how to get home." My blood froze as I felt a presence behind me.

"No idea how to get home? I didn't think it would be so hard to ask for directions?" I whirled around in my seat to see Umbridge behind me.

_'Blasted lack of luck!'_

"Oh, Professor! I just-." Dumbledore spoke up, a twinkle in his eye.

"These two are not sure exactly what the name of their hometown is, unfortunately. They forgot before I found them."

_'Dumbledore you sly-somewhat-senile dog.'_

"Yeah. Neither of us can remember the name."

"Well, isn't that...unfortunate."

_'Don't pretend to believe us you snake...'_ I snapped a quick look to Akumu, who had pretty much the same thought.

"I hope that you soon remember soon. We don't want you to be apart from your families for too long..." The emphasis on her second phrase made Akumu tense up, so I snuck a comforting hand onto her's. Even if Umbridge didn't intend to be offensive, it was still a spear right through Akumu's chest.

"We hope so too." I returned her fake smile with an even faker one, and she silently huffed and walked away. I pulled my hand away from Akumu's and sighed, looking at her to have a nonverbal conversation. We knew each other like the back of our hands, so we could pretty much communicate without words.

_'Sorry.'_

_'I will hang her.'_ I shrugged.

_'Just ignore it.'_

_'Not like I would want to even touch her anyway.'_

_'Sure.'_

"Hey." I raised an eyebrow as she ducked her head, embarrassed to no end that she broke the silence first. One or two of the Professors looked over, thinking she was trying to get their attention. I waved them off and went back to eating. It wasn't important for them to know anyways.

««{{¤}}»»

Later that night, I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk around the halls. I was sly enough that I even confused Mrs. Norris, Mr. Filch's cat, when she tried to catch me in the halls. There was something off about that cat, I didn't feel the urge to reveal myself and coax it over like I normally do.

I ran my hand over the cold stone of the building's inner walls, sighing. I wasn't sure how we were going to get back to our home dimension. Akumu still had no idea how to access her magic, and she had been attempting to at any free chance. I felt a small spark of magic from the wall and raised my eyebrow. I focused on my magical core, something I've identified as separate from my ability to control electricity. My ability rested more in my gut, while my magical core rested more in my chest. I reached out with my magic gently, not sure if my idea would work. I felt something reach out in return and I gasped, pulling my hand off the wall.

_'No way...'_ I slowly touched the stone again, reaching out. I felt a warmth spread up my arm and I resisted pulling away. My eyes clouded over, but I didn't feel in danger. I felt strangely calm, almost like someone's love was filling my heart. I felt a light pierce the darkness and saw a woman standing there. She had brown hair with a white and green dress on. She looked about in her fourties, but the wisdom in her eyes aged her beyond imagination. There was also a pressure in her presence

"You are a strange one." I scoffed in response.

"I can't imagine why. Who are you?"

"I am here." She gestured outwards. I folded my arms, not in the mood for the cryptic garbage.

"'Cause that's helpful." She dropped her brow at that.

"I am the one who you learn from." I paused for a second, then it clicked.

"...Hogwarts...?" A small smile on her face nearly made my lip curl.

'_Is she amused by me?'_

"Of sorts. I am weaved into the walls and throughout the tapestries. I am in the water and the stone. I am the magic in Hogwarts."

"Okay, and what are you showing yourself to me for?"

"I am...curious about your story. I may contact you soon." The darkness vanished and I found myself back in the hallway I was in, the lady gone. I shook my head to try and clear it.

"Well that was weird..." I continued walking down the hall, deciding to head back to our room. "So...Hogwarts is sentient...Interesting." I was nearly back to our room when I heard a strange rhythmic clicking sound. I ducked into the shadows and waited as they got closer. I slowed my breathing as the steps slowed to a stop, and a low growl echoed through the halls.

_'Great, it picked up my scent.'_ I saw that the small cubby I was in reached up to the ceiling. I placed my back against one wall and my feet against the other, reaching high enough that I didn't have to worry about a dog taking a chunk out of me. I looked down to see a large black dog slowly move through the halls, sniffing the ground. It paused where I had stopped, sniffing before looking around. It started to trace back the way I had come but turned around and moved towards the little cubby. It sniffed at the ground before pausing and looking up, freezing when it saw me. When it realized there was a human staring at it, it backed away, growling.

"Heh. Hey boy, what are you doing wandering the halls?" I lightly dropped to the floor, landing in a crouch. The dog bared its teeth, snarling at me, its stance widening a bit. "Oh come off it. Now, which student do you belong to?" It stopped and tilted its head. "Come on, I see cats, mice and owls all the time. I'm surprised more people don't have dogs." I sat back against the wall. I was used to aggressive dogs, and they were nothing compared to dragons. Dragons were much more dangerous. The dog seemed to settle and tilt its head. "Go on, go back to your owner." Its ears pulled back and it growled. "Don't you sass me." It almost seemed to gawk at my bravery. "What, you think I'm scared of a simple dog? Please I've faced a lot worse than you." It tilted its head the other direction. "What? You think tackling a dragon isn't dangerous?" Its eyes widened and it took a step back. My eyes squinted. "It's not like you can actually understand me...can you?" It did something that I never would have expected. It nodded. "...Okay, that's it. I'm going to bed." I got up and started to walk towards our room, when the dog leapt into my path, stopping me. "Move."

"Arf!"

"I said move." I stepped to the left, but it followed.

"Woof!"

"Dang it dog, move." I moved back to my right, but it followed again.

"Arf!"

"Sit!" I pointed at the ground. Its ears pulled back and a low growl sounded from its throat. We stared each other down before I sighed. "What do you want? Huh? Obviously you're not stupid. So, what is it?" The dog trotted around me and paused a little ways down the hall, almost disappearing into the shadows. I followed, stuffing my hands into my pockets. It turned a few corners, and I almost lost it a few times. I turned another corner, only to have my throat grabbed by a hand and be slammed into a wall. I started to react, when a voice stopped me.

"I wouldn't move, if I were you." I opened my eyes to see a man with dark curly hair. He had a wand pointed right at my throat. I slowly raised my hands, showing them empty. "Now. Who are you?" He kept his voice in a low, fast whisper.

'_Fast whisper. Jumpy. Unable to hold still…He's not supposed to be here.'_

"I should ask you the same question." He put a little more force into his hand, cutting my air a little. I nearly punched him, but there was no telling how fast he could shoot a spell off.

"I'm asking the questions here! Now, answer me. Who are you?"

"Rai Taiki." I said, my jaw tight.

"What are you doing here at Hogwarts?"

"Learning magic?" Wrong answer. His hand tightened a little more and he gave me a warning look. "Alright, alright, my sister and I are trying to get home. Only we don't know where it's at."

"...What is the purpose of befriending Harry Potter?"

"Because I'm more likely to find my home if I have more connections." Answering his questions honestly and promptly would probably save my neck, literally. But I needed to get him to back off.

"Why him?"

"Because he was the first friendly student who didn't question me on my skills."

"What sort of skills?"

"Martial Arts." As if to show him, I moved without giving him a moment to think. I twisted his wrist holding his wand, then chopped his hand and made him release my neck. I spun to face away from him, pulling him over my shoulder to slam him into the ground. He suddenly changed to the dog from before and landed on his paws. He growled, leaping at me. I yelped as I caught him in the throat with a backhand, knocking him away. He landed with a yelp of his own and changed back to his human form.

"Stupify!" I ducked under the spell and booked it out of there. I turned a few corners, trying to lose him, but I heard paw steps following me rapidly. I turned one more corner and stopped when I saw a dead end.

"Nuts!" I turned and tried to run, but the man came around the corner, wand at the ready.

"Why'd you run? Got something to hide?" Obviously, he was enjoying the chase. There was a light of mischief with a hint of insanity.

"Myself from the nutcase." I retorted nervously. He was shifting from one foot to the other, not able to sit still.

"Very funny. Did Voldemort send you? Are you one of his, little traps, to try and ensnare my Godson?" I did a double take.

"Wait, Godson? You mean..."

"Anyone who tries to harm him will be hearing directly from me." That look in his eyes made me think he was mentally screwy.

'_At least he is willing to protect Harry…'_

"Alright pal, I may not know a lot about this world yet, but I do know I do not take kindly to threats. I don't have any two faced intentions. I'm just trying to get me and my sister home." I fauxed an attack and leaped over him, rolling before leaping, then pushing off the wall in midair and disappearing around the corner.

He tried to chase me, but I somehow disappeared. He switched to Padfoot and sniffed around. Following my scent, he found that it ended with no trace.

Something did smell like smoke, which was strange. He found the specific spot and switched back to Sirius, running his fingers over the blackened stone. He noticed a flash of magic behind him and had vanished before the stunning spell could hit its target. Professor Umbridge walked forward, seeing the small scorch mark.

"Hmm..."

I snickered as I continued silently running down the hall. I had taken as far of a jump as possible, snapping my fingers to zap the place I had jumped from. Hopefully it would clog his nose if he switched into his dog form. I didn't hear any footsteps following me after a while, and slowed to a walk. It took me a few minutes, but I found my way back to my room. I walked in and dropped onto my bed, sleep quickly overcame me.


	8. Chapter 8

**The magic near the end of this chapter goes in an interesting way that I personally haven't seen before. Rai also shows just how well he's taking this change in scenery from the last world. For now.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Silverleone**

Akumu and I had just finished lunch and were walking to Charms class when Professor Umbridge approached us.

"Hem hem."

"Yes Professor?" I asked, bouncing on the balls of my feet a little. She didn't find my immaturity amusing.

"Mr. Taiki, might I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I had nothing to hide.

"Might I ask what you were doing out after curfew last night?" I blinked.

_'How in Thor did she notice me? Great, I sound like Hiccup.'_

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, and needed to get some energy out." There was no reason to lie, she had caught me red handed.

"Well, might I ask that you do that before curfew, from now on?" I nodded, mentally slapping myself for getting caught.

"Of course Professor, my apologies." We swapped fake smiles and went on our ways. Akumu leaned over to me.

"You snuck out and got caught?!"

"I never noticed her. She must have not been wearing her pink garb." Akumu rolled her eyes as I opened the door to Charms. "Either that or these people have surveillance spells." We glanced at each other with silent groans. No more sneaking out at night. We sat down and waited for class to start as the rest of the students. I gently twisted my wand in my fingers, trying to think of ways to get my revenge on Umbridge without getting caught. I didn't want to drag the Weasleys into this. Even if it would be fun, I didn't want them getting expelled. Akumu and I were on our own. Soon the classroom was filled, and Professor Flitwick started, standing on a particularly unstable stack of books.

"Alright class, shall we get started?" The class chorused a 'yes Professor' and he swung his arms joyfully. "Splendid! So, the first charm of the day is going to be Engorgio! It is simply to grow smaller objects and make them bigger!" I heard a couple of the male students snort and I nearly chucked a book at one. I leaned over to Akumu.

"I'm gonna use the reverse spell on them, see how they like it." It was her turn to snort at my comment before we focused back on the class. The Professor ran through the spell and demonstrated it on a water glass in front of him. He asked if there were any questions and I raised my hand. "Professor?"

"Oh yes! One of our guests! What is your question?"

"Does using this spell on the water mean there is more water? Or does it grow from a molecular level?" He paused.

"Well, to be honest, Mr. Taiki I have never thought about it like that."

"Okay. Well, does it weigh the same as it did?" The Professor tilted his head and reached down, trying to pick up the glass that was now the size of his head. He grunted and leaned back.

"Well, it appears it weighs exactly how it looks. That was a good question, thank you!" He turned to the rest of the class, "Any other questions?" A few students asked if there was a possibility of using it on a specific body part, like a hand, or leg.

_'I'm going to use your face to try it out! These kids are so immature!'_ Akumu nudged me and I realized I had a slight glare on my face. I calmed myself and focused on the Professor.

"Engorgio works best on inanimate objects, therefore, you shouldn't try to grow something like someone's foot." Professor Flitwick nodded to end his comment. "Now, let's try it out. Remember, simple, smooth movements. Ready? Go!" I pointed my wand at the glass in front of me. I felt my magical core charge slightly in preparation, and I took a breath.

"Engorgio." The single word made my core flare a little, and the glass grew in size. It stopped at about twice the size it was. "Wow. First try." Akumu nodded and turned to her glass.

"Engorgio." Her glass grew as well, but it didn't stop at twice the size. It kept slowly inflating and I raised a hand.

"Um...Professor...!"

"Reducio!" A spell flew across the room and hit the glass, making it shrink down to its original size, wobbling a bit before Akumu steadied it with her hand. "Well done Miss Tanaka! Well done indeed! Just for future reference, make sure to think of the size you want it to grow to." Akumu nodded dumbly as she stared at the glass.

"Noted..." I did my best not to laugh at her. "Stuff it Taiki." I threw my hands up in defense.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to." I sighed and watched the rest of the class attempt the spell, occasionally repeating it myself for practice. Most got it right, but Professor Flitwick was ready for any accidents. Thankfully, the only bad thing was when a glass grew too big and somehow shattered, sending a small pool's worth of water cascading down the seats, making some of the students scream. I chuckled as the Professor dried everything up with a spell.

"Alright, class! It appears that we have time for one more! Let's learn the charm, Avifors! It turns an object into a bird. Now, let me demonstrate." He cast the spell and his large glass of water sprouted wings and changed. Some of the class 'oohed'. I perked up in interest. "Right, now, you try it." I raised my wand after a second of thinking through the spell when a high-pitched squeal came from my left. My head snapped over and I saw a bird flapping wildly and trying to get at a young witch's face. I started to stand up, but I quickly leaned back as a knife flashed passed me, spearing the bird and killing it instantly. The witch pushed the bird away from her in a panic, and I quickly moved over. I picked it up and held it out of her view.

"Are you okay?" She brushed the hair out of her eyes and nodded, her voice shaking when she spoke.

"Yes, thank you. What happened?"

"Don't worry about it." I stealthily pulled the knife out and slipped it up my sleeve. I walked over to a window and tossed the bird out, closing it and turning to the professor. "Sorry Professor."

"No, no it is fine. Are you hurt Miss Farren?"

"No, it's just a small cut. I've had worse." I had noticed the small mark on her cheek from where the bird's talons had grazed her. The Professor nodded at her, then turned to me.

"Mr. Taiki, I thank you for your assistance." He paused for a second, "For future reference, please no muggle weapons in class." The Professor said in a lower tone so only I could hear. My heart skipped a beat and I nodded.

"Apologies Professor, I was merely protecting her."

"Understood." He nodded and I went back to my seat. I shot Akumu a half-hearted glare and she shrugged. I handed her the knife under the table and she slid it back into its sheath. We continued through the class, and thankfully no more murderous birds were conjured up.

Akumu and I filed out of the classroom once the class ended. I sighed.

"Magic is tiring." Akumu nodded.

"Do you think it's like a muscle?" I nodded after a second.

"That makes sense." I pushed off the wall. "Shall we go to...?" I raised an eyebrow as a hint and she nodded.

"Let's." She smirked as a few students looked at us weirdly. We walked down the hall, both of us enjoying the breeze through the open corridor. I raised an eyebrow when I saw Princey walking towards us.

"Here's Princey!" I stage whispered to her. She snorted and caught me in the ribs. I disguised a cough with a sharp grin. Malfoy stopped in front of us, folding his arm.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He said.

"We, are minding our business. Sounds like someone else hasn't learned it's a good trick to have up one's sleeves."

"Stop mocking me you foreign mudblood." He scowled. I dropped the fake smile, staring him down.

"Look. I am just trying to find our home. So unless you have a clue. _'Move.'"_ He pulled back a little in surprise as electricity danced in my eyes.

"Don't try to scare me muggle." I raised an eyebrow.

"'Muggle'? Is that one of your pathetic attempts to sound higher than me?"

"You!" He started to pull his wand out, but I leaped over him, landing opposite of Akumu.

"Point that wand at either of us. See just how fast we are." He spun around, and I ducked, kicking one leg out to the side while crouching low on the other one. The spell he sent out flew over my head, and I sprang high into the air. He tried to step back, but tripped, almost falling. I landed in front of him and swiftly chopped his hand. He cried out in pain and stepped back, holding his wrist. He immediately overreacted and made it sound like I had broken it.

"OW! It hurts! It hurts! Ahahahowwww..." I rolled my eyes.

"Mr. Taiki! Did I just see you attack a student?!" I rolled my eyes again as Professor Umbridge waddled up.

"Yes. Yes, you did. You should know, he attacked first." She huffed and walked over, helping a pathetic act get to his feet.

"That gives you no right to strike him down!"

"Professor, it was a disarming blow. I simply chopped his hand to make him drop his wand. It is no more harmless than an Expelliarmus."

"It looks much more harmful than a simple spell!" She spat out. Activate deadpanned look.

"Professor. Please. A blind deaf man can see through this act." Malfoy shouted and ran at me. I stepped to the side and he lost his balance, falling to the ground. I winced. "Now that, might be painful."

"Mr. Taiki!"

"I didn't touch him." I stepped back and held my hands up. Akumu was grinning like a fool behind Umbridge and I shot her a look. Umbridge hustled poor old Malfoy to his feet. According to Wimpy over there, he injured both his wrist and leg now.

"Oh, you poor, poor boy." I retched a little. Umbridge turned a glare on me. "I will not hear of you harming another student. Otherwise, it is detention for you!" I held my hands up.

"No more self-defense. Got it. If a student wants to kill me, I will let them." She was at a loss for words for a second.

"You will do well to remember the agreement we made, Mr. Taiki." She said snappishly. I sighed.

"Yes Professor." She huffed and turned, leading Malfoy away. I spotted his wand on the ground and sighed.

"Leave it!" Akumu hissed at me. I gave her a look and picked it up. I felt it hum a little and raised an eyebrow.

"Professor!" I jogged over to them. "I don't think he should forget this." I held it out. Malfoy gasped and snatched it with his supposedly injured hand.

"You thief! My father will hear about this!" He glared fire at me. I gave him a deadpanned look.

"You dropped it when you tried to zap me. I was giving it back." I stated simply. He continued his glare while Umbridge lead him away.

"Now now, Mr. Malfoy, there is no need to go for drastic measures. I will let your father know what has happened." She shot a look over her shoulder. I turned to Akumu and huffed.

"Children." She snorted.

"Come on, we're going to be late."

««{{¤}}»»

I ducked under a spell and flicked my wand.

"Expelliarmus!" The spell flew across the room, and the witch who was my dueling partner dodged it. She shot back two spells and clipped me on the shoulder with the second one. I fell back, my arm going numb. "Okay, that's new," I grunted as I pulled myself into a sitting position. The witch, someone named Cho Chang, hurried over and helped me to my feet. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect to actually hit you." She said.

"Don't worry about it. How long does this last?"

"Just a minute." I nodded.

"That's good. I need a breather anyways." I said. I was fine, in all reality, but I had learned these spell tossers had next to no stamina, and she was a little more tired than the other students. She nodded back to me. I walked over to a table and picked up a drink. I sipped on the water as I watched the other witches and wizards dueling. One was tossed across the room. Another was lifted into the air, and one or two more were simply disarmed.

"Cease fire!" Harry stood in the middle of the room. "That's good! All of you!" I set my cup down and slow clapped. Everyone turned to me, and I coughed.

"Harry, if I may?" He nodded.

"Oh uh, sure." I took a step forward.

"How many of us got hit by a spell just now?" A few students raised their hands. "Not to darken the mood. But how many of us would still be standing if this was war?" A few other kids raised their hands, while the others put their hands down. Only four hands out of the 15-20 were still standing. "Four. Okay. Harry, come here please." He stepped forward, having been one of the ones to "survive". Before anyone could react, I had my right foot behind his, and my hand around his throat, leaning him back. A few of the students gasped. I held onto his shoulder with my left hand as he went horizontal, and I looked up. "Make that three." I hauled him to his feet and patted his back. "You good?"

"Y-yeah I'm good." He shook himself out of his shock and nodded.

"You see. You can never let your guard down." I turned to the rest of the group. Akumu smirked from behind the group, knowing where I was going with this. "For example." I held up my hand, a metal clinging sound echoing through the air as a knife clattered to the ground. I picked it up, tossing it into the air before catching it. With a smooth flick of my arm, the knife was dug into a wooden support beam off to my left. "Muggle weapons, as you lot like to call them." I held up a finger. "Extremely useful."

"Why would I want to use Muggle weapons?" I sighed as a student spoke up. Surprisingly, Ron beat me to it.

"They are quite interesting, actually. I would know, my father brings them home occasionally." The other wizard closed their mouth.

"Thank you, Ron. Now. What are you going to do if you lose your wand?" A hand went up and I pointed to Luna Lovegood.

"I would confuse my opponent with the Wrackspurts."

"Okay. And what if the Wrackspurts aren't around? What if you are completely alone in, say, a kitchen?"

"A kitchen? This is ridiculous! Harry, let's keep dueling." I closed my eyes and felt the room change. When I opened them, the room was devised into two sections. One was a mock up of a standard kitchen, and the other had the students sitting on benches. I walked up to the student that had spoken and held out my hand.

"Wand please." He scowled.

"I'm not giving you my wand." I twisted away from him, holding up his wand. He gasped as I continued talking.

"If! You are wandless! You need to defend yourself!" I stepped through the door in the wall and shut it, locking it. The wizard pounded on the door.

"Hey! Give me my bloody wand!" I ignored him and pressed a button on the wall.

"For example!" A creature landed on the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Acromantula! Defend yourself." I heard a scream from behind me and turned around. The student was running around like crazy, avoiding the dog sized spider. He grabbed a wooden cutting board and Frisbee'd it at the spider. It bounced off of its head and made it disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Good! Next!" A loud howl sounded and another scream, followed by two or three more. I watched as the black dog snarled at the student, who cowered in the corner. The fear in his eyes wasn't a phobia. I stepped through the door, recognizing the very real fear in the student's eyes. The dog turned to me and howled. "Down." It paused. _"Down."_ It stepped off the table and crouched low to the ground. I bent forwards and petted its ears. "Good boy." It disappeared in smoke. The room around us settled back to normal. I walked over to the student and helped him to his feet. I handed him his wand.

"What. In bloody h-!" I spun to the class before he could finish.

"So! What did we see?"

"Someone who knows what the Grim is. You do know the history behind them, don't you?" One of the students said. She was shaking a little.

"Yeah, actually met one a couple of nights ago." Nobody moved.

"...You saw the Grim?"

"Yeah, kind of strange really. The thing was pretty smart." A few of the students pulled back.

"You do know the Grim is an omen of death right?" I paused, thinking about it.

"...Huh. Cool." They all gawked at me. "Guys. Come on. I've faced a lot worse than a black dog." Harry stepped forward.

"Where did you see this Grim?"

"Wandering the halls. It acted like your everyday smart dog. Picked up on what I was saying too. I guess it makes sense that it would be magical." I left out the part where the dog turned human. I didn't need them thinking I was an _absolute_ loon. Just a partial one. Harry turned to the others, clearing his throat.

"Right. Um. Let's end it here, and we'll meet up again soon." Everyone dispersed, leaving the room one or two at a time. Once everyone was gone but the Trio, Akumu and I, Harry turned to me. "Did the dog do anything else?"

"Yeah, it tried to turn my neck into a shish kebab with a wand." They all paused. "Oh, and apparently, it has a strange obsession with you, Harry." They all deflated a little.

"That explains it."

"Does it? Because the guy was nuts."

"That would be my Godfather, Sirius Black." I raised an eyebrow.

"So...it was this Black guy pretending to be a dog, not the other way around?"

"Yes."

"Okay." I shrugged it off and Hermione spoke up.

"You seem awfully okay with all of this."

"Hermione, if I were to freak out about every little thing that I find strange, I wouldn't leave our room." She thought about it for a second.

"I guess you're right..." I nodded.

"Now that that's out of the way, shall we get some lunch?" Everyone nodded. I held out my arm and Akumu looped hers through. We walked out of the room, the door disappearing behind us. I paused and ran my fingers over the brick, feeling a slight spark of magic, and then a small flash of warning from the wand on my back. "Umbridge." The trio looked at me in surprise.

"What?"

"We just came back from a study session in the courtyard." Akumu nodded, slipping into the situation with ease.

"Thanks for helping us." She said to the trio. I egged them on with my free hand. Harry blinked when he got where we were going.

"Oh! Um, no problem."

"Yeah, I couldn't get that spell right. I guess it was the pronunciation, thank you, Hermione." I said as I winked at her. She caught on quickly and nodded, smiling.

"Of course, any good wizard knows the proper words are important." I nodded.

"I'll have to study more; it is something I need to work on." Umbridge walked around the corner ahead, and I pretended to notice her. "Oh! Hello Professor."

"Students," Her sickly sweet smile spread across her face. "Might I inquire what you are doing in this hallway, there are no classes down here."

"Hermione, Harry, and Ron were giving us some tips on Charms. I was having a bit of trouble with one of the spells and asked them if they could help. After all, I am only at the first year level and they are in their 5th year." Her smile tightened and my stomach curled.

"Well, I would ask that you refrain from hiding your little study groups and report them to me. As Hogwarts High Inquisitor, it is something I must be made aware of." I paused to take in a slow breath.

"Of course, Professor. We must be going now; we don't want to miss lunch." I tugged Akumu along and the Trio quickly followed. Once we were out of her sight, I turned to the others. "You need to find a new place to meet."

"What? Why?"

"Because she almost caught us, and if she does, you can say goodbye to the DA." I said. Hermione spoke up.

"But where? The Room of Requirement doesn't move." I laid my fingertips on the brick, feeling that spark of magic again. "Rai? What are you doing?"

"Gimme a sec." I closed my eyes, feeling the pull of magic from my core. It reached out to touch the magic in the walls, and I noticed Akumu suck in a breath.

'_She notices it too…'_ I felt the magic swirl up my arm, lacing around me. It faded and I pulled my fingers off the wall. Turning to the others, they were all gawking.

"What? Oh! Um...Hogwarts is sentient."

"What did you promise?!" Hermione got right in my face and I leaned back a little.

"Uh! I don't think I...!"

"That was a magically binding promise, what did you promise?!"

"I don't think it was, Hermione," I said. "I was asking if the Room can be moved, and it reached out...hang on..." I stepped over to the nearest door and placed my hand on the handle. I felt the magic flow down into my hand, and the handle glowed. I pushed open the door and gasped. It was the Room. "It worked." I shut the door and turned to the others. "We can make the Room travel with us!"

"What? How?" Hermione was immediately on top of it, looking at the handle as the glow faded.

"I guess Hogwarts knows what we are trying to do, and it wants to help protect us. If we can get every member of the DA to do this, then we don't need a specific place to meet. Everyone just walks through the closest door!"

"Rai, that is brilliant!" Harry said. "So, how do we do this?" I opened the door without using my magic and stepped inside.

"In here." Everyone filed in and I shut the door. "Do you know where your magical core is?" All three of them hesitated.

"What do you mean by magical core?" Hermione asked. I nodded at her.

"Okay, let's start there then."


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the next chapter for you! I hope you enjoy! Also, I'm not too far from catching up with everything I've written, so the updates might have to be every two weeks, rather than every week. Unfortunately, with school, working on my wand business, along with a few other things, I don't have much free time. I'm also not good at prioritizing what free time I do have, so yeah…**

**But I will do my best, and whenever I do end up finishing a chapter before the week's end, I will upload it.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Silverleone **

It had been a couple of weeks since I had discovered the key to hiding the Room of Requirement. We had taught all of the students in our little band of rebels how to access it, and soon we had students all across the castle meeting in the same place at the same time. It worked better than I had thought.

Akumu and I were walking down the halls towards our next class when we saw Hermione and Ron walking Harry down the hall. The Boy Who Lived was a ghastly pale color. I shot a startled glance at Akumu and ran forwards. When Harry saw us, he tried to look act normal, but I could tell something was wearing on him.

"Hey, guys." He said.

"Harry! What happened?" He tried to play it off.

"Nothing to worry about. Just going to see the nurse right now." I stepped in front of their path. I pointed at a short brick wall.

"Sit."

"Rai, I really can't."

"Sit. Potter." He blinked at my tone.

"Rai?" I shot him a look that showed my rapidly shortening temper.

_"Sit."_ He pulled back at the determined tone and they moved over to the wall. I crouched in front of him. "What happened?"

"It's not im-." I cut him off.

"Harry, stop dodging my questions. What. Happened?" He hesitated, but I didn't break my gaze.

"I...just had detention with Professor Umbridge."

"She scare you so badly that you can barely walk?" I waved off Akumu's comment absentmindedly and looked Harry in the eye. He got a little nervous and shifted his gaze away. His left sleeve pulled back slightly and I grabbed his arm, yanking back the sleeve. On the back of his hand words were carved into the skin, which was still red and tender, some points bleeding slightly. The words said, 'I must not tell lies.' He was shaking.

"...Harry...What is that...?" My voice had a dangerous tone to it. All three of them flinched and Harry tried to pull back, but I held fast. "...Did you do this Harry?"

"That, Mr. Taiki, is what happens when you do not heed my warnings." I spun to a standing position. Professor Umbridge was standing not far off, her usual smile on her face. I pointed at Harry's hand as I took a step forward.

"...Did you do that to him...?"

"That was his own actions, actually." That comment made me pause. I felt a spark of energy rush through my core.

"You made him cut himself...?" I took another slow step forward.

"You see Mr. Taiki, this is where Hogwarts is going. The students will not listen to the rules, and punishments must be dealt out accordingly." I ducked my head.

"You sick, twisted, disgusting. _Freak."_ She gasped.

"I beg your pardon?"

_"You don't have it!"_ I raised my voice to a shout. "I can't believe you are so low as to make a student cut themselves as punishment! Do you understand how badly that hurts someone who still feels?!" My voice had raised to a shout with the last statement. Akumu placed her hand on my shoulder, worried. Umbridge straightened her coat.

"I will not be spoken to like that, Mr. Taiki." I glared fire at her.

"I will speak to you, however, I want right now. Because I've had it up to here," I held my hand up just above my head, "With your attitude towards _children."_ She huffed and tilted her head back.

"Mr. Taiki, I am warning you."

"What are you going to do Professor? Strike me down where I stand as a model for the other students? Show them, just who, you are? To show them just how far you will go?" I spread my arms out to the side. "Then hit me." Her eyes widened.

"Mr. Taiki, I will do no such th-!"

_"Coward!"_ I shouted. She pulled out her wand and stepped back defensively. Lightning ran down my arms, twisting around them for a second. "You hide behind a mask, but I've seen you without it. You are no hero of the people. You're a charlatan who hides their owns insidious intentions and tries to play everyone else the fool." I flicked my arms down, twin lightning bolts striking the ground harshly at my feet. "You will never have the power you want because you do not have the people on your side. Your greed will be your undoing." I stepped back. "Harry, get on my back."

"If you think that after that outburst you will just leave, you misundersta-!"

_**"SILENCE!"**_ The entire area seemed to obey my echoing command, even the wind seemed to still. I glared at Umbridge as she looked on in shocked silence. I had the others get Harry onto my back, then turned to Umbridge one last time. "The truce is off Umbridge!" She looked ready to either run or faint. I turned and marched off, using the buildup of energy to boost my legs, allowing me to cart Harry around without issue. Soon we were out of sight and I slowed my pace. Ron stepped up so we could see each other.

"Blimey Rai, what spell was that?"

"Something I don't use very often." I muttered, still fuming.

"I've never heard of a wandless spell that conjures lightning." Hermione said.

"It's not exactly what you're used to. I'll explain later. Let's get Harry to the nurse."

««{{¤}}»»

"So what was that spell back there, Rai?" Hermione, Ron, Akumu and I were sitting just outside of the hospital wing. We had handed a still pale Harry over to the nurse, who immediately shooed us out. I looked at Hermione.

"It wasn't a spell."

"It wasn't? Well, was it a charm or a curse?" Hermione asked.

"That's not what I mean Hermione," I said. I was gearing myself up for this. "It's...not magic. At least, not the same magic you guys use."

"Not magic? Well, then what is it?"

"You understand electricity, right?" She nodded while Ron looked lost. "It's pure energy from my body. I can call it out in small bolts of lightning or static shocks." I checked to see if the coast was clear, and when it was, I held up my hand. I slowly moved my fingers back and forth, and sparks danced between them. Ron and Hermione both leaned forward to get a good look at it.

"Rai, that's incredible." Ron reached out to touch it, and I slapped his hand with my other one. "Ow! Bloody hell!"

"This could make your hair stand on end for a good while. Not to mention the feeling of a couple dozen amps making your muscles spaz out of control."

"Well, you didn't need to slap me. Blimey." He looked over his hand to make sure it wasn't hurt.

"So, this energy is from your body?" Hermione asked.

"Yup. It has a core, just like our magical cores. It's centered right here." I pointed to just above where my navel sat. I stopped the sparks and lowered my hand.

"How did you figure out how to do that?"

"I didn't really. It just happened."

"Happened? It sounds like you woke up after a freak accident."

"Not...inaccurate..." I thought back to a past time.

««{{Flashback}}»»

"There's one!/I saw one!" Then I saw it, small sparks were hopping from place to place on Tesla's body, gradually growing in amount and size. I pulled myself forwards, gently placing my hands back on his head.

"Yes...come on Tesla, you can do it. You can do it!" Sparks turned into full streams of lightning, connecting different parts of his body consistently. The lightning was getting so bright, it was illuminating the room. I got zapped hard, and instinctually started to pull back from the pain, but I pushed back to wrap my arms around his neck. "Just...a little more bud, please, you cAH-you can do it!" My vision was wavering in and out from the pain, this was way worse than when we jumped in the lightning. Hiccup called out and tried to pull me away, but Fishlegs grabbed his arm.

"You can't! Your leg!" My muscles were spazing from the electric currents running through my body, and I was holding on as tightly as possible. Hiccup had to shout over the noise.

"Rai! Get away from him!"

"I c-ca-n't! I WON'T!"

"RAI!"

"TESLA! PLEASE! DO IIIIIIIIIIT!" Blinding light filled the room, making everyone cover their eyes and turn away.

««{{Flashback}}»»

"So…You're friends with a dragon."

"Two, actually."

"…And they didn't try to eat you?" I smirked.

"Oh, they did. But they learned I'm a little tougher than your average human."

"But…dragons aren't that intelligent. I mean sure, my brother Charlie works with them, but they all seem to be wild." I leaned back against the wall.

"Well…You don't exactly have these dragons in Britain. Or at least, I wouldn't think so."

"What, are they from America?"

"Not, exactly…"

««{{30 Minutes Later}}»»

"Wait, wait wait wait…You're not from this dimension?"

"No, we're not." I sighed. Akumu had given up on trying to stop me and was only adding in a few points here and there. When she felt like it, of course. I had explained where we were from, and our little adventure in Hiccup's dimension. Luckily, everyone seemed to have vacated the halls, leaving us without fear of being overheard. Well, almost unheard.

_"Wicked."_ I turned and saw the Twins standing there.

"Hello, boys."

_"Hello, friendo."_ I smirked gently, having grown used to their antics by this point.

"So, what are you lovely people doing inside on such a nice day?" I jerked a thumb at the doors to the hospital wing, my mood dampening just slightly.

"Getting Harry checked out."

"What? Catch a bit of the sniffles?" A look from me made the Twins pause. "...What happened?"

"Guess who." They didn't need to guess.

_"Umbridge."_

"Yup." Hermione caught a glint in their eyes and turned to them.

"Don't even think about it." She said sternly.

"Too late." Fred stated.

"Fred! George! You can't!"

"Can and will." Said George, both twins nodding as one, seeming to end their end of the conversation.

"You can't attack a-!"

"Hermione." I cut her off swiftly. We didn't need anyone hearing that. "Calm down, alright?" She turned a glare on me. Man, she had that down. "I'm not saying Fred and George should do anything, but I'm also saying they have full rights to do it."

"What makes you think that?" She folded her arms and I took a second. For her being 15 and my being 20, she didn't act like there was an age gap. Granted I didn't look that old, but still. "If they do what we all know they are going to do, then they'll be expelled." Fred and George glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Like we care." She scoffed and turned to them. She couldn't think of anything to say and huffed, grabbing Ron's arm and hauling him off without another word. The Twins watched her leave and turned to me.

"She's gonna paint a target on your back Rai." George said.

"Not going to be a pretty one either." Fred added, and I felt like he had emphasized his accent to make a point. I nodded.

"Believe me, I know all about having a target on my back." Akumu nodded.

"She may be one of the brightest witches in Hogwarts, but Rai has had years of training dodging things." I nodded. Then tilted my head, wondering just how many knives she had used over the years. I snapped out of it when George spoke up.

"Still, keep your eyes and ears peeled. Never know when she could pop around the corner." I noticed both of their eyes flick behind me, only giving me a fraction of a second to even think about turning around when a voice spoke up behind me.

"When who could pop around the corner, Mr.s Weasleys?" I nearly let out a yelp as Professor McGonagall was suddenly behind me. I turned around and took a step back, giving both of us some room.

"Oh, just another student Professor." George said. She gave him a slow nod with a raised eyebrow. She turned to me.

"Mr. Taiki, I do believe you have class with me in a few minutes?"

"Yes Professor." I dipped my head into a respectful nod.

"It would do you good to be on time then." She said, strongly suggesting I follow through.

"Of course, Professor, we'll see you in class." Akumu hooked her arm under mine and we walked down the hall without further word. "How, in the world, did she sneak up on us?"

"I don't know. I didn't hear anything." I shuddered.

"I don't like that. As nice as she is, that's a red flag." Akumu nodded.

"It took the twins seeing her to give us any warning." At that moment, Professor Snape turned the corner ahead of us. Akumu ducked her head, her hair falling in place to cover her eyes. I tilted my chin up by a fraction, making casual eye contact with the brooding man.

"Hello, Professor."

"Students." He replied monotonously. He started to pass, only to pause as he came adjacent to us. We stopped on a dime and Snape looked down at Akumu. She grew tense even just feeling his gaze. His eyes narrowed by a fraction. I cleared my throat.

"Professor? Is something wrong?"

"Might I ask...What you are doing in the halls..." He said slowly. Akumu went into full on-guard mode, locking up in preparation to flee. She was in no position to talk.

"Professor Snape, with all due respect, you know we have classes here." I said, trying to keep the confusion out of my voice. He looked me over and I felt something flash through me. I couldn't tell if it was a chilling fear or the heat of anger. Snape looked me directly in the eyes and I returned the look.

"...If you insist on being difficult...I will remove house points."

"We are not in a specific house, Professor." He seemed to think for a minute.

"Then how about the one you are closest to?" I tensed up this time, I felt offended for Gryffindor. But before I could say anything, Akumu spoke up.

"We must be going now." She grabbed my arm and dragged me away. I could feel Snape's gaze on me until we turned the corner. I stopped in my tracks and pulled my hand from her grasp. I placed it on her shoulder as she stopped. She looked up at me wordlessly.

"Akumu?"

"He...He looks so much like him...It's not possible...he died." I gently gripped her shoulder, giving her something to mentally cling to.

"There are many people in the world Akumu. There is bound to be someone who looks like your brother."

"But why here?" She looked at me through the beginnings of growing grief. I pulled her into a short hug.

"Because fate has a stupid sense of humor. Come on, let's get your mind off of that. Besides, Professor McGonagall has a funny way of cheering people up." Akumu nodded after a moment, taking a slow breath.

"O...Okay."

"That's my girl." I led her down to the classroom of one Professor McGonagall. We took our seats and settled in, pulling out our parchment and quills. I sighed as I watched a few more students trickle into the room. I raised an eyebrow as a tabby cat wandered in just before the door shut behind the last student. I noticed the students who saw the cat didn't really register that it was there. The tabby hopped up onto the desk and sat down, looking over the class. It must have been the Professor's pet.

I perked up when I noticed a magical presence coming from said cat. I shifted in my seat and lifted my head to stare at it, my eyes squinted in thought and concentration. The tabby locked eyes with me and I nudged Akumu without breaking eye contact. She looked at me, then followed my eyes to the desk, her eyes landing on the tabby. She turned back to me.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" She said teasingly. I squinted my eyes and opened my mouth to speak, only to blanch when the cat jumped forward, changing before my eyes into the stern Deputy Headmistress. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as she calmly but pointedly walked over.

"That is a fair question isn't it Miss Tanaka?" Even though my jaw hadn't hit the desk, it snapped shut, and I nearly bit my tongue. I wasn't sure how to respond. "Well," She said, an understanding smile coming to her lips, "I suppose this is not normal in your hometown. Magic, that is?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye. She turned and started to walk towards the front of the class, only to stop when a chair scrapped on the floor harshly. She turned and saw me now standing, a hand on my desk to keep me upright.

"H-how did you do that." The statement was asked with my voice shaking a little. My lilac wand on my back heated up a little, flashing in warning of danger. She grew concerned when my face grew paler than just a second ago. She tilted her head forward after shooting some snickering students a look to silence them.

"Mr. Taiki, I am an Animagus. I have learned of a form other than my own to take." I swallowed hard, my throat dry. For some reason, her change affected me way more than when I had met Harry's Godfather. Maybe it was the difference in situations, or the adrenaline blocking part of my logic at the moment that night. But I was currently freaking out. Everything that had happened since we got to this world hit me at once and I froze.

'_She just turned into a human after being a cat! How? How is that possible?!' _

"Mr. Taiki, are you alright?" She took a step forward. I took a step back. "Mr. Taiki?" Akumu stood up at this point, placing a hand on my shoulder. I visibly flinched and turned, mumbled an excuse as I marched out the door without further comment. Both women called after me, Akumu following me shortly after. I kept my march as my brain just about fried itself trying to comprehend everything.

'_I'm in a world where magic exists! I shouldn't be here, magic isn't real! The only thing that's been real in the past year was Tesla and Sting! I must find them! I need to see they're okay! I have to-!'_ My wand sent stronger pulses at me before it calmed down a little.

"...Rai...Rai! ...RAI!" I stopped on a dime as she ran to catch up. She gripped my shoulder, wincing herself when I flinched again. "Rai, what's wrong?! What happened?! ***Gasp***" Her free hand went to her mouth when she saw my eyes. They were hollow, and the light normally in them was nearly extinguished. The ashen skin made it seem like my eyes had sunken into their sockets. "What's wrong?"

"…" I couldn't find the words to respond, my mind barely registered her speaking, much less hearing what she was saying. She tried to shake me a little, but I didn't respond. She sighed and turned to see the Professor walking up.

"Professor, I think we will stay out here for the remainder of the class." Professor McGonagall's lips thinned to a line and she nodded after a moment of thought.

"Alright, Miss Tanaka. Do see to it that he is well. Take him to Madam Pomfrey should he turn worse." She gave her a pointed look before turning and walking back to her class. Akumu sighed before turning to me.

"Rai, come on, let's sit down." I nodded after a second. She led me around the corner to a small nook. We sat down and I stared at the floor. "Rai, what happened?" I broke my staring contest with the floor and looked at her. I blinked once, and my mind seemed to clear a little. I shook my head and snapped out of it, looking back to Akumu, startled.

"A…kumu? What happened?"

"That's what I want to know." I rubbed the ball of my hand against my temple, trying to think.

"…I think I had a panic attack."

"Didn't know you could lose your cool like that." She said, only half meaning it.

"Most people don't expect a panic attack Akumu." I pulled my glasses off and ran my hand over my face, taking a moment to breathe deeply. Replacing my glasses I let out a tight hiss through my teeth.

"Are you going to be okay?" I thought about it for a minute, then grunted and reached over my shoulder to pull out my wand. I felt its magic pulse gently, in an almost comforting way.

"…I think I will be. Just, give me a minute." Akumu kept her eyes on me as I gathered my thoughts. After a minute I replaced my wand before heaving another sigh. I took a second before making eye contact with her.

"Better now?" I couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah."

««{{3 Weeks Later}}»»

We were in the Room of Requirement practicing the Patronus Charm. Even for as quickly as Akumu and I were catching up with the others, we were still leaps a bounds behind any witch or wizard when it came to this spell. I had been able to produce a mist, but I paused to help Akumu out.

"Come on Akumu, you can do it." She dropped her arm by her side.

"I can't."

"Shush, you'll speak it into existence." She shot me a halfhearted look.

"Look, Rai. What is the point of this? We need to find a way home. Not learn how to-!" We both ducked as an ethereal otter flew through the air, nearly smacking into us. "How to make imaginary puppets." I sighed.

"Akumu…I don't know if there is a way home."

"You of, all people, are not allowed to give up." She glowered at me through her eyebrows. I snorted before pulling her to the side, waving Neville off gently after a concerned look from him.

"Akumu…" I tried to think of how to put it lightly, but the words wouldn't come. "I…can't find a way home." She searched my face for a minute, trying to find any hint of sarcasm or folly, but she didn't see it. "You can't access the magic you used, and I didn't have it to begin with. I have searched and searched for a way back…But there's nothing." We both stared at the ground as reality set in.

'_We've both denied it. We both clung to the hope, the tiniest of threads. Now that those words are spoken, put into existence, we have nowhere to turn.'_

"Come on Akumu…Let's take a break." She nodded numbly and we walked to the door.

"Rai! Akumu? Where are you going?" Harry's voice turned us around.

"Sorry Harry, but we're done for today." He nodded after a moment, and we exited the Room.

««{{¤}}»»

Akumu and I had ducked into a classroom so we could mull things over. We hadn't been in there but 20 minutes, when we heard a flash of fire. We spun around to see Dumbledore standing there.

"Headmaster?"

"I am afraid the time has come, children."

"Um…what kind of "time has come" are we talking about here?" I asked warily.

"My time at Hogwarts had come to an end. For now."

"Wait. What about Harry and th-."

"Mr. Potter and the others will need your help. They are about to face something far more powerful than they, if only because of their inexperience." I nodded after a moment, knowing he wouldn't give me more information at the moment. He stepped back, and that's when I noticed Fawkes, his Phoenix, sitting on a desk preening its feathers.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes, Fawkes is quite remarkable, isn't he."

"Is this a real Phoenix?" I asked as I walked over. Fawkes tilted his head and chirped at me. I extended my hand in a friendly manner, and Fawkes looked into my eyes before pushing into my palm. His feathers were smooth as silk.

"Yes, in fact, Fawkes has not too recently undergone his latest rebirth a few years ago. He is fresh and full of energy. Thankfully none too soon." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I will be departing for a season. But I will return the moment I am needed." Fawkes flapped his wings and started to circle the room. "I am afraid you and "Dumbledore's Army" are the Wizarding World's only hope. Be patient and alert children." Fawkes cut in towards Dumbledore, who reached up with both arms and grabbed his feathers. The two of them disappeared in a bright flash of fire, leaving massive sunspots in my vision. I rubbed my eyes before looking around.

"They're gone."

"Yeah…And I assume the next few months aren't going to be pretty."

««{{¤}}»»

"I still can't believe she is allowed to do this!" Akumu seethed as I closed the door to our room. I shook my head, my tone solemn.

"She's the new Headmaster. She has full control over Hogwarts right now."

"Aren't we students here?" I turned around.

"Not officially, no. We were never sorted into a House. We never stayed in the dorms, and we never had to follow the more House specific rules."

"Where will we go?" I didn't want to say.

"I don't know." We had received a notice from Umbridge that we had an hour to gather our belongings and leave. She was the only one happy about it. Even the stoic Snape, usually indifferent, seemed slightly concerned.

"Well, surely we can hide somewhere!"

"Akumu…"

"I mean, it's not like she can keep up with us, I-."

"Akumu."

"…just don't understand why we even listen to he-!"

"Akumu!" We both paused, seeming to let the echo leave the hall. "I don't know. Okay? For not the first time in my life, I don't have answers." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a place to stay in Hogsmeade."

"…Fine."

"Don't act like I'm happy about it, you know full well I feel just as badly about this as you do."

We stepped out onto the front walk of the school, our bags on our shoulders. Thankfully, Hermione had been gracious enough to add undetectable extension charms to them, allowing us to pack anything that would fit through the opening without them growing full. I looked over my shoulder when I heard footsteps. Not only was Umbridge there, but so was the Trio. Harry and the others stepped forward and hugged us.

"We only knew you for a short time. Sorry it had to end like this, guys." I said, nodding to Harry. He nodded back.

"Don't worry, we understand." A bittersweet smirk played on my lips.

"Keep up your training, will you? All of you?" I glanced at Ron and Hermione after Harry. All three of them nodded. Hermione approached Akumu and held out a hand, which she shook.

"I'm…glad I got to know you. It's nice to know there's another girl out there with smarts." Akumu smirked cockily at that, and I noticed Hermione slip something to her.

"Oh, don't worry about that. There have to be brains somewhere in our little duo, doesn't there?"

"Hey, I resent that." I cut in. They both just smirked at me and I huffed before rolling my eyes. We stepped back and I sighed, ready to say the final goodbye, only to be cut off.

"Hem _hem."_

'_Yup. Will always hate that.'_ I turned to Umbridge, doing everything in my power to keep most of my scowl off my face.

"Yes? Umbridge?"

"That is Headmistress to you."

"No, it's not." She outright glared at me. "Not only are we no longer students here, you only hold that title temporarily. Dumbledore will be back. And while he won't take over the Ministry, he will take back his school." She huffed and straightened her coat before holding out her hand, palm up. I raised my eyebrow.

"We will see. Your wands." I stiffened.

"No chance in hell." My head snapped over to Akumu.

"I demand that you hand over your wands! As Headmistress you must obey me or face-!" Free from the tiny bit of power she had only just received, I snap.

"Shut. UP!" I bark at her, a spark dancing in my pupils. "You just spent the last three hours kicking us out of the only place we could stay! Akumu is right, there is no way you are taking away our source of protection now."

"Then I will us-!"

"You so much as to make a move to cast any spell at us, no magician dead or alive will fix what I do to you…Dolores." Her eyes widened and she took a step back, just about gasping for breath. "We are keeping our wands, as they were gifts from the real Headmaster here." I straightened up and turned to the Trio. "We will see you all later, I suppose." We all said our goodbyes and Akumu hooked her arm around mine before we started off.

"Right. What did Hermione give you?" Akumu opened her hand, showing a single gold coin, with a small piece of parchment. She unfolded it and read aloud.

"This will allow either of us to know the other group is in danger. Just speak the word 'danger' into the coin, and I will know where." Akumu looked at the coin carefully. "Huh. That's…kind of interesting."

"Oh come on, she just created a single word telegram. That's actually really cool."

"Hm, whatever." She slipped it into her pocket and wrapped her arm around mine again. "Let's just find a place to sleep."

"Agreed dear sister."

**So, Rai and Akumu have been kicked out of Hogwarts. How will they find any chance of getting home? What will they do now that they're no longer in the castle? Let me know your thoughts!**

**~Silverleone**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here we go into the main action of the movie!**

**Enjoy!**

**~Silverleone**

I sighed as I dropped into a chair.

"You're back early." I looked over to Akumu, who was currently studying a book she got from the local bookshop.

"Idiot boss doesn't know talent when he sees it." I said as I rubbed my face in exhaustion.

"You got fired?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"But, you were like, the MOST qualified out of everyone there."

"Apparently being able to do a standing backflip isn't as impressive as being able to conjure up a single, flightless bird."

"A penguin?" I sat up and threw my hands in the air.

"No! A literal flightless bird! It was a canary with one wing!" I collapsed with another huff. "Besides, it's not like I can't do the same spell, but better."

"Someone's in a crappy mood." I peeked at her through my fingers.

"Nah, what tipped you off?" She simply snorted and shook her head. I sighed and leaned my head back. "Sorry, not trying to tear into you."

"I know."

"I guess I'm frustrated that we haven't heard anything from the others in weeks. I mean, we left school almost two months ago."

"I get it. Voldemort is still out there, and apparently, Umbridge had got all of Hogwarts underfoot. There's nothing we can do." I blinked when we heard a slight tinkling sound from the other room. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she got up. I followed her into the kitchen as she picked up the golden coin that had laid dormant for this entire time. The coin said one word.

"Forest?" Akumu asked.

"…We need to go. Now." She nodded and we grabbed our gear. I shrugged my coat into place slipped my Pear wand into the inner pocket. We nodded to each other and stepped out of the room. We hurried down the steps and started speed walking through the crowds of Hogsmeade.

"There's no way we'll get there in time."

"I know. But we have to try." We finally broke from the crowd and traded a glance before taking off at a run.

««{{¤}}»»

We were both sweating by the time we even saw Hagrid's hut and stopped to take a small break.

"W-where are they, at in there?" Akumu's hair hung in front of her face as she dragged fresh air through her teeth

"I couldn't, even guess!" I said, just as tired. We took a short rest before we kicked into a light jog, trying not to lose ground. We entered the forest and hopped from root to thick root. I snorted as I leaped up and grabbed a branch, swinging myself across a small creek. "I hope they're okay."

"They wouldn't call us for a tea party Rai!"

"I know that!" I landed awkwardly on my right foot and had to roll. I hopped onto my other foot and tested my ankle.

"You okay?!"

"Not the worst I've had!" I grunted at my full weight on it but pushed through the pain. We continued running until heavy hoof beats came thundering through the forest. Along with some random, high pitched screaming, which I happened to recognize. "Hide!" We leaped into the trees and ducked as far into the lower branches as possible.

"Let me go! I demand it! I will not be treated as a common peasant! I will report this to the minister! You will not have a home after this!" I grunted and dropped from the tree, landing with a roll right in front of the Centaur herd. I raised my wand as they rumbled to a halt. One or two of the Centaurs raised their bows, but I paid them little regard.

"Move, young child." I grimaced at the Centaur that had spoken.

"Mr. Taiki! Mr. Taiki tell them to release me! Tell them to put me down!" I ignored Umbridge's incessant screaming.

"First of all, I'm more of an adult than this witch ever will be. Second, her shrieking is scaring the animals." I pointed my wand directly at Umbridge. "Tell me Umbridge. Can you survive in the forest, wandless and alone," I tilted my head in a mockery of her own movements. "And…silenced?"

"Mr. um, wh-what are you talking about?!"

"Langlock." Umbridge tried to gasp as her tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth. "There. Now you don't have to listen to her incessant whining." One of the Centaurs lowered their bow slowly. They strapped it back over their shoulder and replaced the arrow while stepping forward.

"Who are you?" I replaced my wand and gave him a small smile.

"Just your friendly neighborhood wizard." The smile dropped and I looked at him earnestly. "Do you know where Harry Potter is?" He looked into my eyes, trying to read me, but it was taking too long. "Look, I don't have time to explain, but they need our help."

"Our, help?" At his question, Akumu dropped from her branch, standing at my heel, just a little nervous.

"Yes, our help. Harry and the others called us, but all we know is that they're here in the forest. If we don't get to them quickly, we may be too late." Another Centaur stepped forward.

"I will show you where they are." The others in the herd protested, but he held his hand up. "The young Potter boy has helped us before. If these are his friends, then why should we not help them?" The herd was silenced, and he nodded. He turned to Akumu and I, nodding. "I am Ronan. Follow me. I will take you to them." We nodded.

"Thank you." He turned and trotted off, Akumu and I on his…heels? Hooves? Whatever.

We were keeping pace with the Centaur for a while, but my ankle was starting to get to me, and I had to pause in our run.

"Da-! Gr!" I held back a curse as I leaned against a tree. "I…it hurts too much. I think I sprained it." The Centaur looked me over for a minute, looking to be seriously contemplating something.

"Come, young one." He bent his front legs and held out an arm. I raised an eyebrow.

"As new as I am to this place, even I know you don't let humans ride you like the common horse."

"This, is an exception. Get on." I tightened my jaw as Akumu helped me hobble over and straddle his back. "You as well girl." She hesitated but nodded and hopped on his back behind me. I held onto his shoulders as he stood up and started running at a faster pace.

"Akumu, you won't happen to know any healing spells, would you?"

"Fresh out, sorry. I was more focused on perfecting that blasted Patronus Charm."

"You are working on that particular magic?" The Centaur asked as he ran around a rather large tree. "May I ask why?"

"Never know when you need to throw lily petals at a creature that can suck out your soul." Akumu mumbled, more to herself than either of us. Ronan went silent as he charged through the forest. I turned to Akumu.

"Oh how I miss flying." I muttered. Sure, Ronan himself had a smooth gait, but a horse's hooves could never compare to dragon's wings.

««{{¤}}»»

Ronan ran into a large clearing, and I gasped.

"The Thestrals," I noted. I spotted Harry and the others. "There they are!"

"The planets said they should be here. Thankfully, they seemed to be cooperating." I quirked an eyebrow at Ronan's words but shrugged it off as a Centaur thing. He knelt down, allowing Akumu to hop off and help me slid off.

"Rai! Akumu!" Harry and Hermione ran over. I smirked as I tried to hide my injured ankle.

"Sup." Harry smiled tightly. "What's wrong?"

"It's Sirius. Voldemort has him." I blinked in surprise.

"Okay?" So why are you petting skin and bones over here?" Ronan snorted indignantly behind me and I turn to him. "No offense Ronan. Thank you for your help." He nodded calmly.

"I would suggest taking careful thoughts into your next actions, young Harry Potter." He said while looking to said boy. Harry nodded. Luna stepped forward, her dreamy gaze looking at me calmly.

"Rai, did you injure your ankle?" I grimaced. Of course Luna would notice.

"Yes, he did. Would any of you know magic to help him?" Ronan asked, "Unfortunately my expertise is not in the healing of others." Luna nodded and pulled out her wand. I gritted my teeth, ridding myself of any fear.

'_Luna is one of the more capable witches in her year. Just because people bully her doesn't make her less apt for a simple spell. If anything, she is more capable than most.'_ She gave her wand a simple flick, and I felt the pain dim.

"It won't hold forever, Rai. But it should last for the rest of the day." I nodded at her.

"Thank you, Luna."

"Of course." I turned to Harry.

"What's the plan?" Something nudged my shoulder and I looked to see a somewhat familiar Thestral. "Oh, hello."

««{{¤}}»»

"This is awesome!" I called over to Hermione as she held on to her own Thestral with a white-knuckled grip. Akumu wasn't faring much better, her grip around my waist nearly crushing me.

"I hate flying!" She responded.

"Which is why I asked him to let you ride him," I said, pointing to the Thestral she was on, "You've already done it once!"

"That doesn't make it better!" She cried out as her mount shifted its angle, gliding away from us with a haunting cry.

««{{¤}}»»

We ran through the empty Ministry, the echo of our footfalls not bringing us any comfort.

"Harry. My gut is saying we shouldn't be here."

"What, and let Sirius die?"

"Harry…How did you even know?"

"I saw it, in a dream. Just like I saw Mr. Weasley! I have to help him!" Harry continued to run, while Akumu and I slipped to the back of the group to watch behind us. Akumu spoke to me in a low tone.

"I don't trust his judgment. He cares too much for this Sirius guy."

"He is his Godfather, so it's not a big surprise," I muttered back. I checked over my shoulder, but not only did my regular sight and hearing not pick up on anything, but both my magical and electrical cores were coming up blank. "I don't like this."

"Same." We entered a nearly black room, the others lighting their wands while Akumu and I stayed in the dark. Crystal balls filled shelf after shelf, which almost reached too high to see.

"He, should be here." I stiffened when I felt the presence of multiple people moving above us.

"Harry." Hermione called as a form walked out in front of Harry.

"Where's Sirius?" I squinted at the fair blond locks. He didn't look like a fun time. Neither did the crazy looking one behind him.

"You know, you really should learn to tell the difference between dreams...and reality. You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now, hand me the prophecy."

"If you do anything to us, I'll break it." The witch behind him cackled.

"He knows how to play! Itty, bitty, Potter." I saw Neville stiffen.

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Neville Longbottom, is it?" The sick glee in her voice made me shiver.

'_Oh crap.'_

"How's Mum and Dad?"

"Better, now that they're about to be avenged-!" Harry stopped Neville from moving forward and Lucius stopped Bellatrix. I broke my attention from them and focused on feeling out the closest person in the room. I slowly slid my wand back into its sheath and stalked off down a corridor without anyone noticing. I flinched when I heard Bellatrix shout, but sighed when it made everyone focus on her. I stalked down to the next intersection and moved down two isles, coming up behind the Death Eater. I snapped my arm around their neck and dragged them away, choking them out until they fainted.

"Nighty night." I whispered as I hit them with a Petrificus Totalus spell. I saw Akumu take out another guy and we traded nods. We moved in preparation to go around the entire group and take out Lucius and Bellatrix.

"…Give it to me."

"I've waited 14 years…" Lucius gave Harry a look of faux sympathy.

"I know."

"…I guess I can wait a bit longer. Now! Stupefy!" I booked it down the aisle, sliding on my knees under a spell from a random Death Eater. I jumped to my feet, my wand almost snapping from its sheath.

"Immobulus! Stupefy!" I snapped the two spells off without hesitation, freezing the man and knocking him back. Akumu and I met up, almost taking down another wizard before he vanished into a cloud of smoke. We rejoined the others as we blocked spells and shot back. I heard Bellatrix cackling in glee as she flew around.

"Reducto!"

***Smash*** I spun around and saw the explosion a little ways off. The shelves shifted as the crystal balls fell, shattering

"Now you've done it Ginny!" I said.

"Get back to the door!" Harry called out. I waved everyone else past me before taking up the rear. Glass was shattering as the shelves fell on each other, and I would occasionally throw the only simple shield spell I knew over my head to stop the glass. We sprinted with everything we had, seeing the door right in front of us. Harry slammed it open with his shoulder and fell through. We all jumped, and the door shut behind us. We stopped falling mere inches from the floor, only to drop a second later.

"Oh, that hurt a little more than I'd like." I groaned as I rolled to my feet. I helped Akumu up and we looked around.

"The voices…Can you tell what they're saying?" I looked up to see Harry looking at a large stone arch. Hermione confused me when she replied.

"There aren't any voices Harry. Let's get out of here."

'_Then why do I hear them…'_ Luna stepped up near Harry, wonder in her voice.

"I hear them too…" I blinked at her.

"Harry, it's just an empty archway. Please Harry." Harry spun around, but not to look at her.

"Get behind me!" I spun into a crouch as the black smoke rushed into the room in multiple streams. They flew down and rushed around us in a swirling fog. I felt a pair of hands grab for me and I instinctively reacted, blindly snapping my fists out to strike my assailant in the face. The smoke cleared, and I looked around.

"Well…isn't this an unfortunate turn of events…" I muttered as I slowly stood up. Everyone except Akumu, myself and Harry had wands to their necks. Lucius walked up to us, chuckling.

"Did you actually believe...or were you truly naive enough to think, that children stood a chance against us? I'll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now. Or watch your friends die."

'_This one's a right git…great, now I sound like Ron.'_ I thought as I surveyed the situation.

"Don't give it to 'em Harry!"

"Sh!" Bellatrix pressed her wand against Neville's throat. I watched Harry closely.

'_Obviously the prophecy is important…maybe we can work this out.'_

"You're a fool if you think Harry's going to listen to you." Lucius turned to me, giving me a once over while looking past his nose.

"And just who might you be?"

"'_My father will hear about this!'_ I'm pretty sure your son has whined about a couple of students who have completely disrespected him as their "betters." Obviously wasn't raised right." I paused in my next taunt as a bright light shined behind Lucius, and my eyes widened when I recognized the form that stepped from it. Lucius turned around and I saw him pull back a little as Sirius stepped up.

"Get away from my Godson."

***Bam*** Lucius went rolling, accidentally knocking into Harry and tripping him. Harry dropped the prophecy, causing it to shatter in front of Lucius.

"No!" He cried out. Another light flashed down from the ceiling, bouncing off the floor and knocking into one of the Death Eaters, freeing that captive. It went for Bellatrix, but she turned to smoke and flew away. Soon, more of the lights appeared, and the room nearly doubled in its occupancy. Before we knew what was happening, spells were being tossed left and right. I ducked and grabbed Akumu's arm, pulling us out of the line of fire. I poked up over the rock and took aim, lashing out with three spells before ducking, the rock's top being blown off. I saw one enemy off to my left.

"Now's where the real fight beings!" I sheathed my wand and booked it towards the Death Eater, who snapped spell after spell at me. I leaped up, avoiding the spell, and pushed off the wall, landing a flying haymaker right in his face. I grabbed his wand and chucked it at the next nearest guy, who took the blow to the back of the hand, making him drop his own wand as I sprinted at him. I slid on my side to get past him, only to spin to my feet and kick out his knee, then lay him out with a solid punch. I ducked as another spell flew over my head, and spun to see Bellatrix standing there.

"You know, I really hate the stereotypical witch. Cauldrons and cackles, with a pinch of insanity." I said as I steadily pulled my wand out. She let out her cackle and I smirked. "And my way of getting rid of things I hate is this-!" I snapped my arm down, "Expelliarmus!" We traded spells, neither one of us connecting, until she looked away for a second. I shot another spell, but she blocked it without looking. She scowled and growled out a single word before disappearing into a could of smoke.

"Black!" I tried to shoot her down, only to freeze when I saw who she was aiming for. "Avada Kedavra!" A sickly green light flew through the air, striking a grinning Sirius in the chest, the incantation alone seemed to take the breath out of my lungs. The whole battle seemed to pause as the man turned to Harry. The grin turned to a sad smile before he fell back into the misty curtain, his body floating up and fading away. I watched as another man ran over and grabbing Harry, holding him back as he cried out, trying to comprehend what just happened. I watched as it finally clicked, and Harry cried out in pure agony.

'_That was the last of his family…and he's gone…just like that…_' I watched as Harry spotted Bellatrix leaving the room, and before the man holding him could do anything, Harry broke from his grasp and was in pursuit.

"…Harry." I shook myself out of it and took off after him.

"…Killed Sirius Black!" She laughed, "He's coming to get me!" I could hear the witch's crazed laugh, before I heard a second spell that was like a punch to the gut.

"Crucio!"

"OH!" She fell to the ground as Harry ran up, pointing his wand right at her. I stopped a few yards off.

"Harry. Harry stop." His head twitched in recognition, but he didn't break eye contact with the witch. Her lower lip was trembling and her eyes were wide.

'_What was that spell, to make _her_ shake in fear?'_ I froze when I heard a whisper, but I couldn't make out the words. I stepped back as another black fog appeared, but this one was smaller, more condensed. It formed the most inhumane being I've ever seen. The "man" was completely bald, pale, and skinny.

"Do it, Harry." Harry paused, before spinning around, raising his wand. My eyes widened as the man merely swatted the air, magically smacking Harry's wand out of his hand without effort. "So, weak." All four of us turned when one of the fireplaces lit with green fire. I internally deflated when Dumbledore stepped through.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom. The Aurors are on their way."

"By which time I shall be gone." He said which such ego, I'm surprised he didn't explode in a spectacular ball of flames, "And you, shall be dead." Both wizards raised their wands and the fight was on. Dumbledore knocked Harry away, causing him to slide to the other side of the hall. Bellatrix slipped through one of the fireplaces while everyone else was distracted. I ran behind the pillars and crouched next to Harry as he blankly stared ahead.

"Harry, Harry, we have to go. Harry!" He looked at me with tears in his eyes.

"He's gone. Sirius is dead!" I gritted my teeth and slapped him. He looked at me in shock.

"Grieve later you idiot! I get it, he's the only family you had left, and I'm sorry it happened! But this is no time to wallow! If you hadn't chased th-!" I ducked as stray lightning struck the pillar around us. I saw Voldemort flicking his wand towards us, trying to hit Harry. I cast a simple shield spell to at least minimize the debris hitting us. Voldemort saw he wasn't getting anywhere and tried a different tactic. A ball of fire appeared in his hand, which he then expanded into a huge fire snake. "Okay…Not gonna lie, I need that spell." Harry shot a half-hearted glare at me, to which I shrugged. The snake snapped at Dumbledore, who smacked it with magic, making it flick back. The fight continued with Dumbledore not appearing to have any trouble after capturing Voldemort in a bubble of water. Harry stumbled to his feet and I grabbed his wand. He tried walking over, but I pulled him back.

"Don't get so close to your attempted murderer you baka!" He looked at me.

"W-what did you j-!" I looked over to see Dumbledore drop the water ball. Voldemort stood up and shot what looked like a cloud of black dots at Dumbledore, who blocked it while nearly taking a step back. Voldemort drew in the power then shot it out, shattering the glass in the area, while also throwing all three of us back. I landed on my bad ankle and rolled it a little, making me gasp in pain.

"Gah!, Sonnva-!" I froze when I saw the glass flying towards us. "Oh, that might hurt." I ducked as Dumbledore conjured up a shield, which turned the glass to sand. It settled after a moment, and I saw the look of shock and disappointment on Voldemort's face. His eyes flicked over to Harry, before his body evaporated. I stared at the spot in surprise. Who knew that wizards could simply vanish?

'_Heck, what do I know about anything magicals can do?'_ Harry grunted in pain and dropped to the floor, then started spasming.

"Harry!" I ran over and dropped to my knees, rolling him onto his back. His eyes were whited out and glowing. He glared at Dumbledore, who knelt next to me.

"You've lost old man." I gasped at the twisted voice. Harry gasped in pain and I looked to the Headmaster.

"Headmaster, help him!"

"Harry…" Harry spasmed more, shouting out in pain.

"Dumbledore!" I cried out.

'_Why isn't he doing anything?!'_ Dumbledore leaned forward.

"Harry. It isn't how you are alike," I stared at him like he was an absolute loon, "It's how you are not." Harry contorted, a grimace on his face. I spun around, my wand up when I heard footsteps running in. I dropped my arm when I saw it was the rest of the students, along with Akumu, who was holding her arm. It appeared she was bleeding. Harry gasped and stared at his friends.

"You're the weak one. And you'll never know love, or friendship." I raised an eyebrow. "And I feel sorry for you." His body shook and he cried out again. He threw himself onto his back and the sand around him lifted up, almost pulling a black form from his chest. I fell back when the black cloaked form of Voldemort stood before us, surrounded by slowly rotating sand. He leaned forward, a smile on his face.

"You're a fool, Harry Potter. And you will lose, everything." I grunted and got to my feet, my wand coming up. I didn't know hardly any magic, but I wasn't going to let Voldemort take Harry without a fight. We all turned when a flash of fire sounded, followed by a few more. The Minister, along with a few more people, stepped out of some of the fireplaces. The Minister froze at the sight of the Dark Lord, who, in a swirl of sand, disappeared.

"He's back!" I nearly rolled my eyes.

'_Yeah, figured that out a long time ago bud.'_ I got up and walked over to Akumu, pacing my hand on her free shoulder.

"You okay?"

"If I wasn't covered in blood right now, I'd slap you." I smiled and took her hand, gently pulling it away from the wound. It was still bleeding slowly, but it was way too clean to have been from a fall. "Some idiot snuck up on me while I was beating the tar out of some other guy. Nearly took my head off with that one." I rolled my eyes.

"You really should be more careful Akumu."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep yapping. It might kill enough brain cells so this doesn't hurt as badly." I smirked and chuckled that time.

"Can I borrow a knife?"

"What? Don't have one on you?"

"Normally yes." She grunted and used the hand not currently covered in blood to retrieve a blade from her belt. I took it, nodding in thanks, before bending down and started cutting my left pants leg off just below the knee.

"What, are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't bleed to death. Duh." I stood up and put the knife between my teeth so I could wrap the fabric around her arm. After securing it, I gave her the knife back, which she promptly returned to its rightful place. I turned to stand at her shoulder, placing my hand on it as Hermione and the others checked on Harry.

"…He lost his only family…didn't he?"

"It's going to be a long time until he recovers. In fact, with how there's no body, he might never. He'll probably wake up every once in a while in a cold sweat. Only to realize it really was a memory and not some nightmare." She raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like you've had experience." I smirked, but there was only a hint of real emotion.

"I did live through that once." She winced and I gently tightened my grasp on her shoulder. "It's over. I'm fine." She nodded after a moment, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Well? What now?" I nodded and retook my place next to her, watching as reporters started filling the area, camera flashes nearly blinding us.

"Well, we can't go back to Hogwarts. I guess we just go back to our place." She nodded sadly and I started leading her towards the exit.

"Just a minute!" I turned to see the Minister bustling towards us.

"Oh great." Akumu mumbled as she shifted back a little. The Minister shot us a look.

"And just what are you two doing here?!"

"Saving the wizarding world while you sat in your home sipping tea I reckon." I said, pretending to check my nails. His mouth dropped open and I shot a glare at him, silencing any retort. "We are going home. Everything we could tell you, you'll hear from the others. I need to get my sister checked out, as she got injured in your war." I promptly turned and led her away.

"You stop right there!" I spun around, returning the glare I was getting. "You cannot leave the crime scene!" I scoffed.

"Crime scene?! This isn't a crime scene! This is a bomb that has just dropped on the wizarding world! You were in denial that the Dark Lord had returned, only to keep your power as Minister. You were scared that if he was back, you wouldn't be able to keep your cushy seat at the head of the British wizarding community. So what did you do? You had your most vicious, cruel, vile little creature take Headmaster Dumbledore's place. You had everyone who was under your thumb slander not just his name, but the name of a child who saw exactly what kind of dark magic Voldemort is capable of."

"Do not speak his name!" He stated, just above a whisper, red in the face and his blood pressure far above what it should have been. I straightened up, barely holding back a scoff.

"And you still fear a simple name." I stated, near mournful. I turned to the crowd of reporters who had been watching us. "Wizarding world of Britain, this man is the one who has been leading you astray! Not Harry Potter, nor Albus Dumbledore! He feared to lose his seat as Minister and sought to discount The Boy Who Lived as a liar. I ask you, why, if the so called Dark Lord is not back, why we just fought almost a dozen of his followers, including one named Malfoy!" The camera flashes nearly blinded me, and the shouting nearly deafened me. I raise my hand and a bolt of lightning lashed out, striking the high ceiling above us with a crack. Everyone ducked. The reporters, now silenced, looked at me in shock. "Harry Potter is innocent of any of the lies and slander that have been going around for the past year, and if I hear anyone discounting his integrity, they will be learning just how powerful muggleborns really are." I spun and led Akumu away.

"I think you just made an enemy."

"Ask me if I care." I said before my shoulders dropped and I sighed. "It needed to be said. If the wizarding world never learned the truth, they would never come to trust Harry or Dumbledore again. Then what? The Dark Lord would have free reign, able to build whatever army he is building behind the Minister's quivering back. Then, once he was comfortable, he would simply wipe out anyone who resisted him. He needed to be brought to the light." We stepped back into the muggle world and I turned to the closest person. "Excuse me, sir, would you happen to know where the nearest hospital is? My sister has been injured."

**No, I didn't save Sirius. Rai and Akumu weren't experience enough to combat the adult spellcasters who have owned wands nearly their entire lives. Sure, they are experienced fighters, but mostly against each other, and not magicians who had full range of both distance and spells. Still, let me know what you think!**

**Till next week!**

**~Silverleone**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry this is late guys. I think I'll have to back off to an upload every two weeks. Lots of things to do, especially with my wand business I'm starting up. If I do get a chapter done in a week, then I'll upload it. But! I hope you understand and still enjoy this chapter! We are definitely more than halfway through this story, but I'm hoping it will last another four or five chapters. Granted it is shorter than Chance Untamed, but I think it's high time I get Rai and Akumu home soon.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Silverleone**

Thankfully, the money I had earned working odds and ends jobs had been able to cover Akumu's stitches. Of course, the cut that extended more than half the length from her shoulder to her elbow had to be explained away by one of her own knifes. Thankfully, again, her wand sheath had a Notice-Me-Not Charm on it, meaning when she took her cloak off, the nurse and doctors looked right over it. We both had let out a quiet sigh of relief before the doctors got to work.

Now, later that same night, we were back in our apartment. Thankfully, in Umbridge's haste to get us out of Hogwarts, she didn't bother to check our bags. Which means in my free time I was still studying the more practical aspects of spell casting after reading up on the spells. Of course, I couldn't use any spells that would damage the place, so I was using the Lumos spell in rapid fire succession to improve my "rate of fire", but I had still improved over our time there.

Currently, Akumu was relaxing while I whipped up something for us to eat. The pain medicine was slowly wearing off and she was starting to get a little irritable, understandably. I stepped into the room and held out a bowl.

"Soup?" She scoffed at me.

"Is that all you can fix?" I raised an eyebrow and she ducked her head a little, holding out her hand.

"…"

"Don't apologize. You were high on drugs for the last few hours. You're probably irritable." She raised an eyebrow at my chuckle while she dug into the bowl.

"I resent that…"

"I know." I dropped into the chair across from her and sighed. After a minute or two of silence, I spoke up. "So how are you feeling?"

"Fine, of course my arm hurts…"

"As expected, you got hit with a cutting curse. It was a cut cleaner than any blade could make. We're lucky the surgeon believed it was a training accident."

"Yeah. We could have gone to a Healer. Probably would have been less complicated…?" She left the statement hanging. I pulled my glasses off and rubbed my nose.

"I know. But I needed out of the wizarding world for a while." She nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough." She shifted in her seat and dug into her pocket. "Um…I think you need to see this." She held out what looked like a necklace. I stepped over and took it. The necklace looked to be made out of two gold rings, the smaller one fitting perfectly inside the bigger one. In the middle, a flat disc held an hourglass. The glass had broken, and the sand was gone.

"What is it?" She set her food down and stood up. Walking over to the bookshelf, she pulled out a book with her good arm and handed it to me.

"Look under "Time Turner"." I raised an eyebrow but quickly looked for it. As I read over the description, my eyes widened, and I looked at her.

"Wizards can time travel?"

"Yeah."

"And they use this thing."

"Yup."

"Why'd you take it?"

"If I can't access my own magic, then there's no way I can make a portal. This is the only way back." I frowned as I read through the text again. My frown only deepened as I snapped the book shut. "What?"

"It only goes back by five hours. We've been here for weeks." When it donned on her, she grabbed the Time Turner and chucked across the room with a shout. She growled at it like it was a piece of rotten food. I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know you tried. It was broken anyways." I gave her shoulder a squeeze before replacing the book. I walked over and picked up the broken Time Turner, sighing before putting it in my pocket. "We'll find a way back Akumu."

"HOW?!" I jumped a little at the volume. I lowered my eyes a little and she folded her arms. "That's what I thought. There is no way back, is there?!"

"Akumu…"

"We've waited all this time, when the answer was there from day one! And now it's too late!"

"Akumu." I grabbed her shoulder, "I know…I know." Her mouth snapped shut and she glared at me.

"…So now what?"

"We settle down and live our lives." I thought about it for a minute. "We have two choices, really. Live in the Wizarding world, or the Muggle world."

"I'm not giving up my wand."

"Neither am I." I sighed, "But we don't have to stay here to do that, we could still get an apartment in the muggle world. At least then we're out of the Minister's grasp." She quirked an eyebrow at that.

"…You make a fair point…" After a minute she nodded, "We would fit in better in the Muggle world."

"So let's go pack."

««{{¤}}»»

Akumu slung her bag over her shoulder as she walked over to the door. I copied her and gave on final look over the apartment.

"Well, let's go start our lives." I had just started to reach for the doorknob when a knock from the other side made us jump. We traded a look before she positioned herself behind the door, ready to kick it shut at a moment's notice. I gave it a minute, then slowly cracked the door open. On the other side were three men dressed in bright red robes. "May I…Help you?"

"Mr. Rai Taiki?"

"Who's asking?"

"Aurors from the Ministry. I would ask that you come with us." I noticed the one to the right was reaching up his sleeve in my peripherals. I kept my gaze on the Auror who had spoken.

"And why, might I ask?"

"The Minister wishes to speak to you."

"Sorry, we were just leaving."

"We're going to have to insist." The one reaching for his wand said right before his arm jerked. I pulled back while letting out a short sharp whistle. Akumu kicked the door shut right as a splash of magic made the door shake.

"The window!" Akumu ran over and threw it open while I walked backwards, ready to draw my own wand if needed. She climbed out and onto the first story roof below us.

"Come on!" I spun and swung out of the window right as the door slammed open. Akumu once again cut it close as she slammed the window hard enough to make the glass rattle.

"Go!" We sprinted towards the top of the roof. Once there, I surveyed the area.

***Pop***

***Pop-Pop* ** I saw the three red robes trying to surround us, but they left a wide opening.

"There!" Akumu nodded and we sprinted with everything we had. Spells went flying past us, and more than once we had close calls. Our bags were slowing us down by just a hair, but thankfully the spells were a little slower. We leaped from roof to roof, trying to escape. But the wizards were proficient in their movements, and had no issue keeping up with us, popping from roof to roof as needed. I saw a chimney ahead and had an idea. "Akumu, give me a boost off!" I heard her call out in response and I kicked it into a sprint, giving myself some ground. I jumped, twisted, and planted my foot against the chimney's edge. Giving her a spilt second, I jumped again. Her arms and both of our legs coiled like springs as I reached over my back. As I jumped with the added boost, I pulled my wand out, slashing it down and across, letting out a curved slash of magic. Two of the Aurors shouted out and dove to the side. I landed just as Akumu made it to the other roof. Resheathing my wand, I spun just in time to see a spell racing for her.

"Akumu down!" She dropped onto a hip, sliding down the roof a little before rolling to a stop. I took a flying leap and landed on the same roof. The two Aurors I had aimed at popped in front of us, while the final one landed on the roof behind us.

"Surrender!"

"Why?! What does Fudge want with us?!"

"Justice! You slandered his name in front of the entire ty of magical Britain." The man scowled and took a step forward. I raised my hand, preparing a bit of my power.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but we were just leaving town and have a train to catch." I threw my hand up, a single bolt of lightning jumping high into the sky. Akumu was facing away, so only the three Aurors were blinded. We disappeared before they could recover.

««{{10 Minutes Later}}»»

"Well that was fun."

"Yeah sure." I smirked at Akumu's response.

"Come on, Harry said we can always leave the alley through here." I nodded to a brick wall. I pulled out my wand and tapped the wall. Bricks rumbled and pulled back. We stepped through and I opened the door, only to put an arm out to push Akumu back. "Rats. They're in there." I whispered as I spotted the three Aurors looking around while sitting at a table.

"Can we get passed them?"

"Not without knocking over a few tables." I moved us back further when I heard footsteps coming towards us. An older man wiping his hands with a bar rag stepped around the corner right after we had straightened up.

"Ah, hello you two. Just come from the alley have you?" I nodded at him.

"Yessir. Is there a back door we can use to get out?" I asked as I noted three chairs scrapping behind him. I glanced at Akumu quietly.

"No, I'm afraid not. May I ask what's the matter lad?"

"Oh nothing, just wondering." I dropped my voice to a whisper, "Sorry if we make a mess on the way out, we'll try to minimize the damage." He raised an eyebrow, and then it clicked.

"Don't worry about it. The occasional bar fight happens. The door is straight across and a little to your left." He whispered with a wink and a smile. I smirked at him and looked at Akumu as he walked away. We nodded at each other and got ready. Not even two second later, the first Auror walked around the corner. I dropped to a crouch on my right leg, lashing out to catch the back of their knee with my left. They went down as Akumu leaped, planting a knee in another guy's chest. I rolled under a spell and chopped the final guy's arm, making him drop his wand. We booked it for the door, only to hear a spell flying at us. We split ways and spun to see a random wizard pointing his wand at us, shifting targets constantly.

"You dare attack the Aurors?" I slowly raised my hands as I got up from my knees.

"To be fair, they attacked us. It was simply self-defense."

"They have good reason for it, I'm sure." I squinted my eyes at him.

"Yes, I'm sure they do…Hn!" I snagged my wand and slashed down, a single ball of light flying at the man. He threw up a shield, which the ball harmlessly burst against. He quirked an eyebrow at the remaining wisps of the Lumos. When he looked back to the door, it was banging shut. The Aurors bustled to the door, but it stayed shut when one tugged on it.

"There's no way I'm letting you lot out that door dressed like that! Did you forget the muggles are out there?! You're lucky I don't throw you all out right now! There could have been some in here, and you're just waving your wands around!"

««{{In the Muggle World}}»»

Thankfully my wand sheath did its job, my wand on my back unnoticed even as a small portion of the handle poked out from behind my coat collar. Even with our cloak and coat, Akumu and I blended in better out here with our jeans and t-shirts. I had found a map and was searching through the local area, searching for an apartment.

"That's garbage." I looked up from my map to see Akumu staring at a poster in a shop window. Walking over, I noted it was a football tournament.

"Is that a 3 vs 3 team tourney?"

"Yeah. Why not just make it four or five teams? The roster is massive." It was true, there were 20 team slots, making about 60 people in total. Enough for 12 people for five teams.

"Huh…they've got some good money for the winners too. 1500 Euros." I let out a short whistle. "That's close to 200 thousand Yen." Akumu's eyes widened.

"Really? That's almost a month's pay."

"There abouts, yeah." We glanced at each other, the gears turning.

"We really shouldn't…"

"We could use the money to get our feet back under us…" Grins slowly grew across our faces and I ripped a stub off, leaving only two left.

««{{1 Month Later}}»»

I dropped onto the couch in our rented apartment, Akumu doing the same into an armchair.

"Oh, my lungs!" I gasped out.

"I haven't run that far, in five years." She said, trying to get enough air.

"Who thought training was a good idea?"

"YOU!"

"…Oh yeah." We both paused before laughing until our sides hurt even more. "Oh ho man…it hurts to laugh."

"Well, now that we've been practicing, we shouldn't have any problem beating those other teams."

"Don't forget, it's three v. two every game for us." I said as I got up, taking a couple of water bottles from the fridge and tossing one to her. She caught it while rolling her eyes.

"I know that. But we have something no one else does." I stutter stepped before shooting her a look.

"You better no-."

"Not magic you idiot! We are basically ninjas compared to this slow pokes. I could do that one move in my sleep." She was referring to the full backflip. It was similar to a bicycle kick, but you landed on your feet to finish the move.

"I'll admit that move looks impressive, and I'm nearly able to pull it off myself. Even still, it's not looking good for us number wise." She waved a hand at me.

"You worry too much." I shook my head with a smile.

"You're probably right."

"I know I am." I responded with a simple eye roll, nearly getting my head taken off by a pillow."

"'EY!"

««{{2 Weeks Later}}»»

"Alright Akumu, now!" I said as I sprinted down the field. She nodded, her ponytail whipping in the wind behind her. She stomped her foot, catching the ball between both heels. A jump and twist later, the ball was flying high over her head. I stopped just short of the defenders and turned around.

"Block him!" I saw the two nearest players rush me while the third stayed back. I tracked the ball, taking a few steps back. My eyes flicked to the now open area of the field. Flicking my eyes back to the ball, I pulled my arms back, catching it with my chest.

"Jason!" One bounce off the right knee and switching to plant that leg on the ground, I swung my left leg as hard as I could. The solid ***whump*** signified the start of the football's acceleration. The two men turned in time to see the third member of our team jump and trap the ball before punting it straight into the top right corner. The goalie was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even his fastest movements couldn't save them from the goal. I paused when I looked at the timer and saw only two minutes left. I jogged back to our side of the field as the score board updated. Jason jogged up next to me.

"If we can stay defensive, then we win." I nodded at him.

"Agreed." I looked at Akumu, who had taken her place back near the goal. I nodded at her and she widened her stance, returning the gesture. We settled down and got ready.

At the whistle blow, the other team's front runner sprinted at me, the ball moving steadily as his feet blurred in motion. I feinted left as he moved to my right, giving him a moment of confidence. Which I promptly ripped from under his feet by rolling backwards, gaining ground on him. His eyes widened and he went to move the ball around me, but a quick low sweep had the ball up in the air. I felt my leg muscles tighten like a spring as I timed my jump. Leaping as high as I could, I headbutted the ball across the field. The second player on their team met the ball and sent it flying for all it was worth. I was on the wrong side of the field, but luckily Jason was right where he needed to be. He trapped the ball, and with neither of the two players being too close, let it settle on the ground. After a moment of scanning the field, he popped the ball into the air and sent it flying towards the other goal. The goalie blocked it without issue and wasn't exactly sure what to think of the action. Jason had nearly aimed directly for him and even if he had been aiming for a corner, there was too much distance for the ball to cover. He shrugged and drop-kicked the ball, sending it flying our way. I was intercepted by the front runner, but as he trapped the ball, I squatted down and kicked my heel between his shins, knocking the ball away. He yelped, surprised but unharmed as the ball bounced towards his teammate. I backed away, allowing Jason to engage the man. There was a tussle as the ball bounced between legs, but it broke free and I made a mad sprint for it. Kicking with all the force I could, I grunted as I sent the ball rocketing down field. I slowed to a stop as the whistle blew, signifying the end of the match. I took one last confirming look at the scoreboard before Akumu jogged up.

"We did it Akumu."

"Yeah." I turned to Jason with a smirk.

"For being a random man on the streets, you're not half bad." We nodded to each other in turn.

"You're not half bad yourself." He said, a hint of Russian in his voice, "Especially when you say this was your first tournament."

"Yeah, well, being in shape has it's perks. And thank you for joining us, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have made it past the second round."

"It was no problem; I was happy to join you. And I am grateful you agreed to have me on such short notice." We clapped arms, hands gripping forearms. The ref approached us and shook each of our hands, congratulating us. While splitting the money with Jason wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was welcoming to have him. The teams had only gotten better as the three day tourney went on, and by the end of it, we were nearing our skill limits. Only years of martial arts had allowed us to keep up with the more skilled footwork, our reaction times being just enough to adjust to our opponent's movements.

"I'm ready for a nap, and a day or two of not doing anything." Akumu nodded. She was finally able to rip the hair tie out, shaking her hair out. Apparently she hated having it up at all, better way to hide her identity, or something like that. Akumu's eye widened as she looked past me, her lips opening a little to mouth a 'no way'. I turned and saw someone I'd never thought I'd see again.

"Harry?!" The teenage wizard jogged up to us.

"Hey guys!" He said, a smile on his face.

««{{¤}}»»

"So, you tried to use a Time Turner?" I shook my head at Harry's question. We were currently sitting in Akumu's and I's newest apartment

"No. We read it only goes back in time by five hours. It's useless to us."

"Maybe." Hermione said as she looked over the cracked and empty hourglass.

"What do you mean by 'maybe'?"

"I've heard of other Time Turners, only a few exist. Well, existed."

"Were they destroyed?"

"More like they are stuck. In an endless loop of time. When we went to the Ministry to rescue Sirius," She paused, shooting a nervous glance at Harry for a half a second, "The Time Turners got knocked over and they got lost in an endless loop of time."

"So there isn't any left?"

"Just this one." She said, holding up it up.

"…Is there a way to modify it?" I asked. Hermione thought about it for a minute before shaking her head.

"Not even I know how to do that. Magic dealing with time is extremely sensitive and dangerous. I've never looked into it." Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Even after our third year?"

"Professor Dumbledore had me return the one I was using, and I haven't looked into it since."

"Do you think it would be useful to have anyways?" She glanced between me and it. "Could you at least repair it?" Her eyes widened by a hint, finally getting my meaning.

"You want to keep it?!"

"What? It could turn out useful."

"We can't keep it! This belongs in the Ministry!"

"Hermione. As far as they know, all of them were destroyed. Besides, at least we might use this in the future." Harry set a hand on her shoulder.

"It did help us save Buckbeak and Sirius." Her shoulders dropped after a minute and pulled out her wand. Quietly, she waved the wand over the Time Turner sitting in her open palm.

"…Reparo." The Time Turner floated up just about an inch off her hand as her magic went to work. The glass stretched to form a seamless hourglass and just before it shut, sand poured gently from the tip of the wand to fill it up the appropriate amount. She put her wand back and hefted the necklace before looking me in the eye. "Do not use this," She paused for emphasis, "Unless absolutely necessary." She went to hand it back to me when it slipped from her hand. Akumu and I were close enough to reach out, grabbing the chain. All four of us froze as the hourglass slowly flipped twice, only to pick up speed. Akumu and I looked at each other and then the other, each of our eyes wide in horror.

"Well. This isn't good."

And that's when the world around us blurred.

**File was being weird and wouldn't show up in the upload window so I had to Copy 'n Paste. So if the format is any different, blame it on anything but me. XD**

**~Silverleone**


	12. Chapter 12

Akumu and I felt the world twist around us, time slowing down even as I saw Harry and Hermione reaching for their wands. Time slowed down, and then the world blurred so badly I had to shut my eyes, but not before I grabbed Akumu's arm, both of us holding on with all of our might.

I felt the ground beneath me almost solidify, and we stumbled.

"Uh. Where are we?" Akumu asked, looking around. Copying her, I noticed very familiar brick walls surrounding us.

"We're in Hogwarts…"

"What?! How?!"

"I don't know. The Time Turner is only supposed to move you through time, not space!" I felt a shock of magic around us and spun around. "You!" Akumu turned with me and widened her stance. In front of us, was the lady in a white dress I had seen before.

"Rai, who is this?"

"I am grateful that worked." The women said.

"What worked? This?" I held up the Time Turner.

"Even for magic as ancient as I, it is hard to reach someone outside of my realm." She said, her hands clasped together, hidden by her sleeves.

"Outside of your realm? You mean it was hard to reach us in the Muggle world?"

"For this specific task, yes."

"Okay…Why bring us here? Harry and Hermione are going to be freaking out." I paused, "Wait, how far back in time did we go?"

"You did not." The woman stated simply.

"Uh…What?" I said, Akumu and I were beyond confused.

"You did not travel back in time as the Time Turner was designed."

"Okay, so we just teleported then?" Akumu asked. The woman shook her head. I stared at her for a while before snapping out of it.

"Are you saying that we traveled _forwards_ in time?!"

"Precisely."

"WHY?!" She lowered her brow and I felt a warning spark of magic.

"There is something I need your help with, but it is too far in the future to wait." I froze.

"…How far…?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Currently, one and one half years."

"…How far did we just move through time?"

"Approximately a month. The students will return to school in a few weeks. But I only brought you this far because you need to inform the Headmaster of my plan."

"And you couldn't do that yourself?" I asked, "The others have got to be freaking out! The worst that could've happened is a few lost hours on our part, instead you take us into the future without warning and now they have no idea what happened!" The woman sighed before waving her hand. I felt my throat clamp shut and I gasped for breath. Akumu's hand shot to my shoulder to steady me before she glared at her.

"Stop it! Let him go, you hag!" The blast of magic threw both of us back, knocking us to the floor. The woman shouted, her voice getting closer to a shriek.

"Do not speak to me that way! At least I am in my proper dimension. And I am far more powerful than you know!" I coughed as my throat loosened up enough for me to breath, and I again gasped for breath before coughing. I got to my feet, offering a helping hand to Akumu.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Because. I need your skills."

««{{Flashback}}»»

(Location: Home Dimension)

"...So you think I'm weak...That's it, isn't it...?"

"I never said that." Chief Mandor stated.

"But you implied it." He stood up, slamming his hand on the desk.

"I did not! You are the strongest man on my force, I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"...You disgust me Mandor."

"What?! You have no right to talk to me that way! I am the Chief of this station!"

"And a man who thinks killing means strength!"

««{{Flashback End}}»»

Memories of the day I walked out of the precinct flashed through my mind's eye and I growled. My wand flared in warning and I knew my train of thought was on point

"You have no right to use us as your pawns. I don't care who you are, or how much magic you have at your disposal. Send us back!"

"The Time Turner can only go back five hours."

"Bull! You just sent us a month into the future! Send us back!" I shouted.

"I cannot." She stated.

"I'm telling you to send us back!"

"Since you will still not listen to me, then I must move you forward." I noticed her arm twitch in preparation to move, but I was faster.

"No one commands us!" As I spoke, I twisted to my right, stepping in front of Akumu. A swift look passed between us and I finished the spin, both of us throwing our arms out at the same time, two of her daggers flying at the woman. A swift shield popped into existence, reflecting the knives. Akumu and I had our three wands out before the woman could move again. Electricity arced randomly across my body as we both glared at her. "Take us back!"

"You dare challenge me?" The woman was getting angry. No one had every attacked her with such blatant audacity.

"Heh, I dare challenge anyone who tries to take away anyone's free will. And you're not that scary. I've faced a dragon half the size of this castle before."

"Then you are no good to me at this time. I will send you farther into the future to aid me."

"NO!" I shouted, but her arm was already in motion. The world around us blurred again and I spun to reach for Akumu. Our hands clasped together right before the worst of the movement happened.

««{{¤}}»»

When time finally dropped to a normal pace, it was nighttime.

"Akumu, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Wher-….when are we?"

"Good question." I paused when I saw a sickly green flash of light coming from outside. I rushed over to the balcony, only to see someone falling from the Astronomy Tower. Akumu stepped up next to me, only to gasp at the body hit the ground far below.

"Rai…Who…Who was that?" My blood ran chill as I recognized the eccentric robes and what long white beard.

"…Dumbledore…" I felt the pull of time magic start and spun around to see the woman again. "Don't you DARE!" I shouted as I charged her, trying to stop her so I could find out who killed Dumbledore. The world spun, tripping me. I hit the ground with a cough, even as it spun underneath me. When it stilled once more, I scrambled to me feet. Looking around, the world was gray.

"Rai! Are you okay?" I nodded to Akumu.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I looked around for a second longer before making eye contact with her. 'We need to find McGonagall. We need to ask her what happened." I paused when I noticed a flash of magic from my lilac wand.

"I believe that will be, difficult, Mr. Taiki." I turned to see Professor Snape standing in the middle of the hallway, along with two masked men.

'_Death Eaters…'_

"Drop your wands. Now." I glanced at Akumu, giving her the silent signal to comply. Afterall, we were still more adapt without them.

"Professor, what's going on-." One of the Death Eaters who had stepped forward back handed me, and only my enhanced reflexes saved me from falling.

"Silence! Do not speak to the Headmaster like that!"

"Enough, Goyle. The boy will soon understand to hold, his, tongue." He gave me a pointed look as I wiped a small bit of blood from my lip.

"Yeah. Yeah I get it." I grunted before dropping into a crouch, kicking out my leg and catching "Goyle" in his knee. He dropped with a shout, me returning his hit with a fist to his face, dropping him. By that time, Snape had backed away and retrieved his wand. Akumu had since taken down the other goon.

"Incarcerous!" Rope snapped from his wand and Akumu's arms were trapped at her side and she fell, knocked off balance. Snape turned his wand on me, only for me to duck under the first spell.

"Traitor!" I shouted as I leaped at him. His wand flashed and I dropped to the ground in an instant, unable to move. Only my eyes could move as I was levitated, involuntarily turning to face Snape. A flick of his wand and our wands snapped to his open hand.

'_He doesn't know I have two wands. The fool.'_

"You are the traitor to this school," He said as he leaned closer to me, "No worries. You will soon learn where your loyalties truly lie." He turned when he heard rapid footsteps behind him.

"Headmaster! It's been rumored that Potter is in the castle!" Snape turned fully to him.

"Well what are you waiting for you dunderhead. Find. Him." The man backed away before turning and running again. Snape flicked his wand, levitating Akumu as he walked, holding us hostage. He led our trapped forms down corridor after hallway, eventually to the grand doors of the Great Hall. Walking down the length of the Hall, he flicked his wand, floating us of to the side, one of us on either side. Another flick, and I felt something wash over me, and noticed Akumu go invisible at the same time.

'_Disillusionment Charm' _I thought as I was forced to stand in the corner.

««{{¤}}»»

Students, lined in block formations, literally marched into the Great Hall, lead by their Head of Houses. Once the four Houses were in place, Snape stepped forward.

"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour." Snape started with his drawling speech, "It's come to my attention that earlier this evening, Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmeade." The crowd broke out in whispers, and my eyes landed on where I knew Akumu was. I could feel her gaze return the favor. "Now should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Potter, they will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transgression. Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events, who fails to come forward, will be treated as equally quilty." He paused for half a second longer to let that settle in before speaking again while walking down the steps slowly.

"Now then, if anyone here has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward." He paused and looked over the student body. "Now." I looked over them as best as I could, noticing some of the Lions were shifting around.

'_They know where he is.'_ And in that moment, Harry himself stepped from the group.

"It seems, despite you exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a security problem, Headmaster. I'm afraid it's quite extensive." The doors to the Hall opened as he spoke, and many of the Order stepped through, along with a few others. Harry glared at Snape with the fury of the sun.

"How dare you stand where he stood. Tell them how it happened that night!" Snape looked on in silence as Harry shouted, "Tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him. Tell them!" Snape went for his wand, and at the same time McGonagall rushed to stand in front of Harry. The students all crowed against the walls, trying to get out of the splash zone. The fight was short, but intense as Snape was on the defensive, McGonagall not giving him an inch. Snape jumped into a cloud of black smoke and flew out the window. The entire school seemed to cheer with joy as McGonagall lit the lamps around the room. I closed my eyes when I noticed a intrusion in my mind. A sharp scream lashed out, piercing my ears. I internally cringed, still unable to move.

'_Tch! Come-ON! MOVE! I have to-grr, move!'_ Another girl started screaming, this one I could see holding her head in her hands. My blood stilled when I heard a whispering voice in my mind.

"_I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you might even think to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."_ The presence retreated and the hall went silent, everyone looking at The Boy Who Lived. A good minute went by before one of the Slytherins spoke up, shouting for someone to grab Harry.

'_She really believes the coward?! She's an idiot!'_ Voldemort would tear down this castle brick by brick as a show that he was not to be messed with. The janitor came in at a running limp, shouting about curfew or something, and then presumed to get verbally blasted by Professor McGonagall in ten words or less. She had him lead the Slytherin House down to the dungeons. Once they were gone, I closed my eyes and focused on my power. My limited magic wouldn't get me out of this, so I need to make myself known. I lashed out with the electricity, which arced up towards the ceiling. Students and teacher alike ducked, looking around for an enemy. I channeled more power, making it latch onto my form. Harry and the others approached wands raised.

"Wait, I recognize that lightning anywhere. Rai?!" I still couldn't move, so I upped-the-ante, confirming their thoughts. A few wand waves latter and I dropped to my knees. I pointed across the Hall.

"Akumu, there." Hermione rushed over and soon found her, releasing her as well.

"Rai! What happened?! You just vanished! It's been years!"

"Got kidnapped by Hogwarts, travelled forwards in time." I said, coughing a little

"Kidnapped?" Ron looked at me like I'd lost it. Honestly, wasn't too far from thinking that myself.

"Harry, what happened while we were gone?" He seemed to remember something and took a step back.

"I have to find something. Ron, Hermione, can you explain it to Rai and Akumu?" The two nodded at him. He started to run off before I called out to him.

"Harry! Where are you going?!"

"There's something I have to find!" He took off at a run. Hermione and Ron started from when we first vanished.

"One second, you were there, holding the Time Turner, the next, it was almost like you sped up and vanished into thin air. We searched for weeks, thinking you had just gone back a few hours in time and would show up again. But you didn't." She glared at me, but I could see it wasn't fully anger, more of past fear and worry than anything, "We thought something had happened to you!" I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know. We were just as scared as you were. But what happened?"

"Well, nothing really happened…Um…We did find out how to possibly beat You-Know-Who…" I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Good. I want a piece of him first though." My voice dropped to almost a mumble. "Afterall, he's the reason we got dragged through time." I looked back at Hermione and nodded, telling her to continue.

"You-Know-Who used very Dark magic to create something called a Horcrux." I nearly flinched at the name. My magical core fluttered a little, and I felt my wand warm slightly on my back.

"Why do I get the feeling this is magic only he would look into." She frowned.

"Because only he did."

"Fair enough." I conceded.

"Horcrux are extremely Dark magic, it's when someone splits their soul and keeps part of it in an object."

"Splits their soul?!" Akumu asked as she walked over. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, didn't you joke about that on our way off Berk? You know, when I asked you about…?" Hermione gasped and Akumu slapped my arm.

"Shut up Rai!" Akumu growled. "It was a joke!"

"It better be! Horcruxes are no laughing matter! They are the worst kind of magic imaginable!"

"I said I was joking!" Akumu said, defending herself. Both of them calmed down after a second before Akumu added, "Besides, I didn't even know about this world's magic until we got here."

"…Fair point…" Hermione grumbled. She went on to explain the Horcruxes and what our goal was. Meanwhile, other students and teachers were scrambling to build up the defenses around the castle. Once Hermione finished explaining the plan I nodded.

"So once Harry finds that Horcrux, and we destroy all of them, Voldemort is mortal. Well, less than."

"Exactly."

"Alright, let's go kill a terrorist."

««{{¤}}»»

Akumu and I ran through the halls pushing past large groups of students.

"Tch! Move guys, come on!" I shouted. A few kids moved but it still wasn't enough to get through. "Come! On! MOVE!" I shouted with everything I had. The crowd of panicking students finally parted.

"Geez, these guys just won't listen will they?" Akumu grunted as we continued down the hall.

"They're panicking Akumu. They aren't going to think clearly while in this state." We turned down a different hall.

"Obviousl-hey!" Someone ran into her with their shoulder, knocking her down.

"Akumu!" I spun on the spot, seeing Malfoy standing over her, wand drawn.

"How did you get back in the castle after so long?!" He hissed.

"We were kidnapped by Hogwarts at got fast forwarded through time. Bet Hogwarts never thought to kidnap someone as pathetic as you." Akumu smirked at the scowl that grew on Malfoy's face as she spoke.

"You filthy mudblood!" He raised his wand, only to back knocked to the side by an invisible blast.

"Touching her would be your last mistake Malfoy." I said, resheathing my wand, "Of course, I wouldn't have to make a single move towards you. Akumu is perfectly capable of handling any threat towards her. Especially someone as egotistical as you." My eyes squinted.

'_His hands are shaking and he's even paler than the last time I saw him…'_

"What…are you afraid of…?" His eyes widened.

"What are you talking about!" He spat.

"You're shaking. You're nervous."

"W-what's it to you?"

"Draco, I don't like you, you don't like me, that's a very clear understanding we have. But let me ask you one thing," I turned to fully face him, eyes not breaking contact even to blink. "Who are you loyal to, Hogwarts…or Voldemort…?"

"Don't you dare speak his name!" He roared, his wand now facing me. I didn't move, reading him. Akumu had moved over to stand shoulder to shoulder with me.

"…I see."

"See what?!"

"Pull up your sleeve."

"What?!"

"Pull up, your sleeve." I stated firmly.

"Why should I do what you say?!"

'_And that only confirms it.'_

"Draco. You didn't." His face went red.

"Did! What?!" With two swipes of my arm, my Pear wand was out, and his sleeve was jerked up his arm.

"I see. So you chose then." His eyes flicked between the Dark Mark and I. His face twitched as he had an internal debate.

"I! I-I had to! He would've killed me!"

"Draco, your cowardice knows no bounds."

"Patrificus Totalus!" By the time he had finished casting, my arm was dragging my wand in an upwards arc, a shield forming in front of Akumu and I.

"Using the longest casting spell first? Combat logic in this world is seriously lacking as well. Lumos!" My wand lit up as I looked away, blinding Draco. "Incarcerous!" Ropes whipped out, tying his arms behind his back.

"Gah! Hey! Let me go!" Draco fought against the bonds, but the life of a "high-class wizard" is not exactly an active one. He had next to no strength.

"If you're with _him_, then you're against us. But you always have a choice Draco. Choose wisely." I sheathed my wand and Akumu and I kept going.

"What are we looking for again?!"

"Harry said it's extremely dark magic. My lilac wand should be able to sense it." I reached over my shoulder, only to freeze. "Gah! Snape still has them!"

"Not quite." I looked at her, my eyes widening to see her holding my wand out.

"How did you-!"

"Wandless non-verbal Accio." She smirked as she handed it to me. "And you thought I was lacking in my studies."

"I never said that!" I said indignantly.

"You implied it!"

"We'll discuss this later." I held out my freshly retrieved lilac wand. "Please, sense out the danger. _Quaerere periculo."_ The strange words made magic flow through my arm, my wand glowed a light blue. The light gathered at the tip of my wand and leaped forward, floating swiftly down the hall.

"What spell was that?"

"One of my own making."

"Huh?! Since when?!"

"Just now." I smirked at the flabbergasted look on her face.

"You _just now _made a brand new spell, without testing it?!" I rolled my eyes before turning the corner the light had gone around.

"You sound like Hermione." I grumbled, only to get a fist to the arm in retort. "Ow, why me?"

"'Cause you're going to get yourself killed." She returned my tone and I had to hold back a snicker. Even after these past few years I was still finding ways we were similar. It was almost uncanny.

««{{¤}}»»

"Harry!" I flinched at the loud boom of the giant twin doors shut, cutting of the roar of enormous flames behind them. Akumu and I ran forward, helping the Golden Trio to their feet. I glared at Draco, who flinched back. "Gotta admit, it took less time than I thought for you to get out of those bonds." He took a step back, then ran off with a darker skinned kid. I shook my head before taking a deep breath.

"Rai, Akumu are you two okay?"

"Fine. You guys?"

"Same."

"What just happened?"

"We got rid of one of the Horcruxes."

"Good. How many are left?"

"Um…" Akumu and I shared a glance before looking back to him.

"Not totally sure how many there are left?"

"We know that the snake, Nagini, is one. But we can't get to it, Voldemort keeps her close."

"Then we'll just have to get closer."

"Don't grin at us like that, Rai. It's creepy."

««{{¤}}»»

"_That's_ your plan?!" I twisted my pinky in my ear.

"It'll work better if I still have my hearing." I said to Hermione.

"It's insanity! There's no way Voldemort won't notice!" She retorted.

"He is used to those who use magic without a lot of tact. He's never gone against a muggle who can fight." I looked her in the eye. "And just how many times did I take you three down in the DA?"

"That was practice!" Ron interjected.

"You're right. It was." He shuddered under my look. "Any other arguments about the plan?" I flinched as all four of the others protested quite loudly. "Look, we either kill the stupid snake, or Voldemort stays immortal."

"…It still won't be enough." Harry said, his eye growing heavy.

"Why not?"

"…Nagini isn't the last Horcrux…"

"Okay, so where's the last one?" The Trio glanced at each other. I zoned in on Harry. "Harry…" My warning tone made all three of them flinch.

"Do you know how my parents died?"

"Old black cloaked emo out there?"

"Right…What most people don't know, is when the Killing Curse Voldemort used on me reflected, it didn't fully kill him. Instead, it broke off a small fragment of his soul and it rests here." He pointed to his scar.

"Wait…Harry, you're?" He nodded.

"But a Horcrux can only be destroyed if the vessel…"

"I know. None of us are happy about it."

"But-." I stopped when I saw the look in his eye. "…But if you don't die, he can't either. He'll still be immortal."

"Exactly."

"Well, we might as well work out how to kill the snake first." I said grimly.

"I don't think it matters. Just as long as both soul fragments are destroyed." I thought about it.

"Which fragment is bigger?"

"What?"

"You can't split a soul in half seven times and still have half of a soul in the host." I did the quick math in my head. "He has less than two percent of his soul left in him." I blinked. "Wow, he's even less human than I thought."

"So…does that mean that Harry is more Voldemort than…Voldemort?" Akumu asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ron said, looking noticeably green.

"Wait…Harry. The vessel has to be destroyed, right?" I asked.

"Don't remind me."

"…What is the vessel for your fragment? Is it your body, or just your scar?" He blinked.

"Um…What do you mean?"

"What if, it's just your scar?" Hermione, who had been thinking this whole time, looked up.

"Are you thinking…cut it out?" Harry looked at her in horror.

"WHAT?!" He squeaked. I took a step closer, holding my chin thoughtfully.

"Nothing a skin graft wouldn't fix. Although, the scar might be more of a line than a lightning bolt…" He took a step back, sweat breaking out on his forehead. I clapped him on the shoulder. "It's either that or death. You're choice Potter." After two or three seconds of me staring at him, I cracked a grin. "Harry, I'd rather have a bigger scar than a funeral." Without another word, he turned and walked away.

"Harry you can't!" I held out my arm, stopping Hermione while watching his retreating form. "Rai?

"Nothing we say will stop him."

"But-!"

"I don't want him to die any more than you do. But he's made up his mind." I titled my head and looked at her, "Besides, while his luck can only stretch so far, I'm getting the feeling it'll last just a few more hours."

««{{¤}}»»

"All of Voldemort's army have retreated."

"Harry's going into the forest right now." I responded to Ron.

"Rai, are you sure this is going to work?" I looked at Akumu.

"If all we have left is the snake, this shouldn't be an issue. Just gotta hit the thing as hard as we can."

"But every spell we've hit it with just dispels."

"Have you tried to blow the slimy thing up?"

***Beat***

"Are you guys serious?"

***Slap***

"OW! Why me?!"


	13. Chapter 13

I stood back as the fearless, calloused, purely evil "Dark Lord" stepped from the crowd of his lackeys.

"Harry Potter is DEAD!" I froze.

"He actually did it..." The other side of the courtyard erupted in laughter as the vile crowd enjoyed the thought.

"...Join us, and you will be renowned as one who stood in this final great battle at my side! Who will join me?" I saw Lucius Malfoy and his wife gesture to Draco. Akumu found me and spoke in hushed whispers.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know." I looked around, then my eyes drifted up to the tower. "Got it." I slipped through the crowd of students as Voldemort gloated. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, overclocking my muscles to leap four stairs at a time. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, then peaked out the window. I gawked as I saw Neville standing in front of the crowd. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I still smiled.

"So the Prodigal son awakens." I gathered all of the magical energy I could, and I started sweating from the strain of holding it back. I gasped when I saw Harry twist out of Hagrid's grasp and take off running. "He's alive?! How?!" Voldemort tried to hit him, but thankfully he missed. I stood up and grunted, feeling my magic flare. I pointed my pear wand at the front of the crowd, right at Nagini, knowing it had more of a flare than my lilac wand.

"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" I shouted as a large bolt of energy surged through my wand. An explosion rocked everyone's world as it took out a large number of Death Eaters. I ducked away from the window as spells flew towards me in retort and I retreated down the stairs as fast as possible. Akumu met me at the bottom and wrapped my arm over her shoulder.

"You idiot! You just made yourself a target!"

"Good. Let them come. Did I get the snake?"

"Now, somehow the stupid thing survived that."

"How in the-!" I saw the war had once again restarted. I started shooting off rapid-fire spells at anyone who dared attack the students. One Death Eater landed in front of us and shot off a spell, but we ducked, moving forward for a pincher attack. I chopped his wand hand and Akumu planted a solid kick in his gut. The guy collapsed and I waved my wand, binding his tongue. We moved through the crowd, once again taking down any enemy within range. Akumu leaped into the fray to help another student cornered by three Death Eaters. Spells of all colors were flying over my head when I made it to a bridge. One Death Eater pointed at me.

"That's the one that shot from the tower!" I yelped as spell after spell was launched at me. I tried to dodge or block them, but I was too tired after that large spell and one got through, sending me reeling. The number of spells slowed to a stop as a couple of the Death Eaters stepped forward.

"You thought you were clever, didn't you? I'll admit I've never seen someone as agile as you." I was panting again, and I was running out of time. My magical stores were almost all used up. I glanced behind me to see the war had moved on from the bridge, leaving me alone. "Not so tough when you're alone, aren't you?" I grunted at him as I stood up.

"Speak for yourself. You hide behind your so called Dark Lord like he is some sort of deity. You think you have a mind of your own, but you are nothing more than an expendable pawn on Moldy Wart's chessboard." His eyes lit up in anger and he raised his wand.

I saw the familiar color of a Bombarda spell and rolled to the side. The explosion knocked me farther than I thought it would and my legs slipped off the edge. I scrambled for any hold, but my momentum carried me over. My eyes widened and a shout escaped from my lips. My hands slipped over the edge and I closed my eyes, waiting for the long fall. Someone grabbed my wrists and I instinctively grabbed theirs, dropping my wand in the process. Looking up, I saw Akumu on her stomach, holding onto my arms.

"Rai!"

"Akumu!" I saw the dark wizard calmly walking over. "Akumu, pull me up-!" She cut me off, closing her eyes as she grunted.

"I'm-trying Rai!" When she opened them, I could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't strong enough.

"Akumu...drop me!" Horror made her eyes widen further.

"No!"

"Akumu, you have to let go! He's going to kill us both!" Tears sprang to her eyes.

"I...I-I can't lose you Rai!"

"Akumu, _listen_ to me!"

"You're the only one to ever care about me! I can't let you go!" My eyes widened as the wizard got even closer.

"Akumu, _please!"_ She shook her head, still trying to pull me up. "Akumu! You need to live! Out of either of us, you need to get home!"

"I won't have a home to go back to if _you_ die!" Silence rang true as the wizard stood over her. A sickly sweet grin played on his face as he raised a boot and stomped on her back. She cried out in pain and gritted her teeth.

"Not so tough when your hanging by a limb, are you?" He crouched down and brushed her hair aside. My face contorted into a scowl.

"Get away from her!"

"What are you going to do about it? You're wandless and hanging off a bridge." I just about roared at him, electricity sparking in my eyes. "She is so young, to be fighting in a war. So pretty." He said, brushing her cheek with the back of a finger. Akumu flinched away from him as lightning flashed between my teeth. I nearly blasted him, but I realized Akumu was holding me, the lightning would transfer to her through my arms.

_"Leave her alone!"_

"Oh? Is she your lover?" He said with a sick grin. I made my choice. I looked at Akumu, a single tear falling down my cheek.

"Akumu. Get…home safe." She knew what I was about to do.

"Rai, _NO!"_ I threw my arms back, slipping from her grasp.

"She's actually my SISTER!" Any strength I had left gathered into my arms. I threw my hands forward and a massive bolt flew at the man. He was only able to let out a short scream before being blown away. Akumu screamed my name as her tears fell with me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the ground.

Time seemed to slow down as I heard a somewhat familiar gong sounding but distant hum. A roar shattered the air, followed by flapping wings. I opened my eyes, only to gasp. Above Akumu a portal had opened, and out of it dove someone I hadn't seen in a long time.

_"TESLA?!"_ He roared at me as he dove. I couldn't believe it, he was here! I felt a large grin spread across my face. I reached out as he drew closer, and our eyes met. "About time, old friend." He grinned as he dove past me. I grabbed a strap of leather and hauled myself onto his saddle. He pulled up and we shot back up to the bridge. We hovered above the bridge and Tesla charged up, blasting anyone near Akumu. He landed and I ran over to her. "Akumu! Akumu, are you okay?!" She scrambled to her feet and we met in a hug.

"Rai! Don't _ever_ do that again!" I pulled back.

"We'll talk about this later!" I gasped when I saw a familiar brown and orange dragon smacking a few wizards off the bridge with his tail. "Sting!" He turned to me, wagging said appendages. He bounced over and held up a claw. In it was my katana, still in its sheath. I grinned and strapped it over my head, hugging him in thanks. "Alright! Let's finish this war!" I hopped on Tesla and Akumu hopped on Sting. We took to the skies, Akumu and I blocking any spells from hitting our Dragons. I patted Tesla. "I could use a recharge bud!" He tilted his head in question but nodded as black clouds filled the sky. I was reminded of a certain God of Thunder as I unsheathed my katana, a familiar and _really_ missed hum echoing with the loud rumble of thunder. I raised it high and Tesla growled, a bolt flashed down and struck us both. I shouted as I felt my power restore to full.

"FOR HOGWARTS!" Tesla landed and spun, his electrified tail smacking into a few wizards, knocking them back. He then blasted a group who thought they were tough enough to face a dragon. I leaped off his neck, landing and slashing across a wizard's hand. He cried out as his arm bled and spasmed before reeling back as I sent a lightning filled punch into his face. I ducked under a spell and saw a few foes retreating. I charged with a cry; my speed now doubled. They fired at me, but I dodged them with ease. I flashed passed them and one fell, blood pooling around him. One of the others turned with a grief filled shriek, releasing a sickly green light. I brought my sword back and swung it down with everything I had, a shout and a clap of thunder echoing out as the sword cut through the curse. It faded harmlessly past me and the witch stopped, surprise making her freeze. I grinned ferally.

"Looks like you didn't mean it." I flashed forward, a thunder filled roar echoing in her ears as I sent her flying with a kick. Another spell flew over my head and I rolled towards my next opponent. He was a pretty good shot and almost got me. I flipped into the air and planted a foot in his head, making him fall back. I ducked left and right as two more spells came for me. I paused when I noticed six more Death Eaters were surrounding me. I slowly slid into a stance. All of my senses kicked up to level 10 as I felt the fresh round of lightning course through me.

"Shall we dance, my dudes?" I ducked, bobbed, weaved and twisted as I cut or avoided every spell, my sword, even after these years, was instantly a familiar extension of my arms, giving me no hindrance as I slashed Killing Curse after Blasting Curse. I felt the friction in my muscles build up and I leaped high, coming down and slamming my fist into the ground. Lightning spread out in a dome, electrocuting each witch or wizard. I glanced around to make sure they were all down, then sighed, shaking my fist out. "Dang it, that hurt." I spun as I heard a roar, and saw two werewolves charging me on all fours. I grinned and sheathed my sword, charging forward. One werewolf got to me first and slashed at me. I ducked and came up, clocking him with an uppercut. He yelped and fell back as his partner charged me. I leaped up and twisted, rolling along her back as she skidded to a stop. I landed on one solid foot, already twisting to spin kick then as she turned, giving her a foot right in her nose. Both werewolves got shocked until they ran off to lick their wounds.

"Rai! Rai come quick! Sting got shot down!" I spun to see Akumu running towards me.

"Sting?" She pointed back the way she'd come from. I nodded and ran over, dropping to a knee next to the young dragon. I gasped at the hole in his wing. "Sting, no, please!" His eye cracked open and he let out a moan. I gritted my teeth as he closed his eyes in pain. I stood up.

"Rai?"

"Who did it?" My voice shook with barely contained anger.

"That one." I followed her finger to a man walking over, his coat and long white hair billowing in the wind. A cane in one hand and a wand in his other, Lucius Malfoy stopped a few feet from me. I pointed at Sting.

"You did this?" He smirked.

"My, you have an attachment to it. Interesting. I'm sure the Dark Lord would like to hear of such an intriguing development." I scowled.

"You _moron!_ Tell me why I shouldn't cut you to pieces?!" He looked down his nose.

"You couldn't possibly harm me, you pathetic-!"

"Lucius, enough!" We both turned as his wife ran up. She looked a little worse for wear, with her dress being torn in this place and that. She hesitated only for a moment before walking over to Sting. She knelt next to him and gently placed a hand on his head. Sting opened his eyes, and she let out a small sigh. I tensed when she pulled out her wand and waved it over his injured wing. I stared as the hole stitched itself back together. Sting seemed to regain some energy and stood up, looking over his newly healed wing in awe. He looked to Narcissa and purred, tilting his head curiously. She placed a hand on his horn. "Is that better young one?" He crowed and flapped his wings a little, testing them. She smiled and stepped back. "I'm glad."

"Narcissa what are you doing?" She spun around so quickly _I_ nearly cowed at the look.

"How could you harm such an innocent creature?!" She stood near me, her focus solely on Lucius.

"Narc-."

"Why do we need to fight for him, Lucius?! Can't you see it's only hurting the innocent!"

"We _must_ Narcissa. Otherwise, we will lose our own lives." I turned to face him, a curious tone to my voice.

"You really think he'll win, don't you? " I saw a flash of hesitation in his eyes.

"How could he lose?" Lucius spat out. "He is the most powerful wizard known to live."

"Is he?"

"Of course he is!"

"Is he powerful? Or is he just a tyrant?" I said. "You see Lucius, there was another ruler much like him, ages ago. He ruled with an iron fist. Anyone who went against him perished because they went against his point of view. He thought one type of people shouldn't exist, so he tried to wipe them out." I paused to let that sink in. "He almost did too. By the end of his rule, he had mercilessly slaughtered millions."

"What is your point boy?!" Lucius said impatiently. I scowled.

"My. _Point._ Is." I paused to make sure he wouldn't interrupt. "Everyone thought he was invincible. But. Even a feared tyrant once thought invincible fell once he was pushed hard enough. Even those who "don't die" have limits." I tilted my head back. "Even if Voldemort is powerful, he rules with fear. That will only go so far once people figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Narcissa asked. I turned a grin on her.

"He's afraid of death." I stopped and looked up as a black smoke trail flew through the sky. I realized it was Harry and Voldemort and looked to Lucius. "Live in fear or live in freedom. Your choice. Just know I won't let you harm anyone else." He hesitated, when Narcissa stepped forward.

"Lucius...for Draco..." I turned when I heard footsteps running up, and saw Draco slow to a stop. He looked over the scenario in confusion.

"Draco. Do you want to fight for Voldemort?" I asked. His face instantly tightened, and he spat at me.

"What choice do we have?"

"I thought we already talked about this." He grew frustrated.

"I have tried to leave that path my entire life! I didn't want _any part_ of this bloody war! But someone just kept dragging me back down!" His eyes flicked to Lucius. I nodded and folded my arms.

"Make _your_ choice. Now." Draco's eyes widened and he froze. I watched him carefully as his mind kicked into overdrive. He couldn't think and his eyes grew wet from the frustration.

"I...I-I, I don't know!" He shouted.

"You know which side will win this war today."

"What are you talking about?!"

"You know it, deep down. Feel for it. Hogwarts is still fighting. It is still reaching for those loyal to it. Can you feel it?"

"I don't know what y-!" I gritted my teeth.

"Draco! For once! Shut your mouth and _feel!"_ I shouted, trying to reach him one last time. He pulled back in surprise. I glared at him to keep him quiet. He stumbled a little and Sting raised a claw to catch him. Draco stared at the innocent dragon, who tilted his head with a warble. Draco looked at me, his lip trembling a little.

"...Voldemort will die, won't he?" I nodded.

"Whether it is by Harry's hands, or mine. The tyrant won't stand for another day." I turned and marched over to Tesla. I hopped on and gave Draco one last look, this one just a hint softer than the others. "You're a bright kid Draco. Don't let that go to waste." We took off, Sting and Akumu following.

We landed not too far from where Harry and Voldemort were duking it out, spells being tossed back and forth. I started to step forward, but Harry had noticed us and threw his hand out.

"Stay back!" I nodded and they continued. I turned to Tesla.

"Go and help anyone you can. And please be careful." He roared at me before taking off, blasting Death Eaters along the way. Voldemort grinned and shot a spell at me. I drew my sword and slashed the spell in half, the blade humming with electrical energy. His eyes widened a little and I stepped forward.

"Never had a muggle fight back, huh "Dark Lord"?" I said mockingly. His brow creased and he shot another spell at me. This one I simply sidestepped. He fully turned to me.

"Who are you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm nobody. I'm just a guy from the past and the future. Oh, by the way, out of all rulers I've ever heard of, you aren't one of them." I taunted him the same way I had Drago Bludvist years ago. He thought about it for a second.

"Surely you must be mistaken, if you are from the future, like you say." He said condescendingly. I tapped a finger to my chin, thinking about it.

"Mm, nope. Never heard of a ridiculous name like yours." It looked like I had just kicked his pet snake. He shot another spell at me. I stepped out of the way and walked closer, spinning my sword once before sheathing it.

"I've never seen a wizard wielding such a weapon."

"Heh, you don't get out much. It's a katana, native to the Japanese people."

"How do you know about magic if you're a muggle? How are you here?"

"Oh, at Hogwarts? I was a student, have been for a couple of years now…Sort of." His eyes widened as I held my hand out. My pear wand snapping to it from its sheath. "Neat trick huh? I learned it myself about a year ago."

'_In your time at least…' _ I pointed the wand straight up. "Accio Wand!" I held up my other hand and waited. "It takes a second." My wand snapped to my hand with a slight shower of sparks. "Ah! There we go." Voldemort's eyes widened.

"You, you wield two wands?" I could see his gears turning. "You, are a powerful wizard. You would do well among my ranks. W-!"

"Not on your seventh-of-a-soul-life you inhumane freak." Harry's mouth dropped open and Voldemort looked like he had been slapped. I closed my eyes as I sheathed both of my wands. "Don't you get it Voldemort? You will never rule this world. You know why?" His lips thinned, clearly losing whatever patience Harry hadn't already destroyed. "Because you don't rule with trust, or honor, or integrity. You rule with a tyrannical fist that will soon shred itself apart." Voldemort almost seemed to dance in place, unable to stand still while talking.

"How, can you be so sure? You have not yet seen my true strength." I audibly scoffed.

"And I never will. Harry and the others have destroyed most of your soul. Now you are weak. Weaker than you ever have been. And you're scared." I calmly unsheathed my sword, running my fingers over the back of the blade. "You know only one more and you are just as mortal as the rest of us." I tilted the blade horizontally. "Or maybe you already are."

"...Avada Kedavra!" He shot the spell at me. I rolled out of the way and charged.

"Let's find out just how immortal you really are!" I leaped high, dodging another spell. I landed behind him and spun, slashing a deep cut in his back. He howled in pain as black blood spilled from his wound. His magic lashed out, knocking me off my feet. Harry called my name and restarted his assault. I rolled underneath one of Harry's spells and slashed again. Voldemort might have been good one on one, maybe even two on one, but he had never gone up against a swordsman. He wasn't used to his opponent being this close.

_"ENOUGH!"_ A large blast of magic carried me off my feet. I landed hard, dropping my sword so I could catch myself. "I will not tolerate this anymore! Avad-!" He lurched forward and looked down to see a knife in his gut. I smirked when I saw whose knife it was.

"What's with these people and their loud mouths?" Akumu stepped up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Sting flying off, chasing after Tesla to help. I Accio'd my sword over and Harry, Akumu and I stood in line.

"I don't know. Guess they're compensating for something."

"Rai, Akumu." Harry said.

_"Harry."_ We both replied, knowing him too well. He sighed, knowing us just as well.

"...Don't die, alright?"

"Let's just end this, shall we?" I brought my sword up, resting it on my shoulder. "If you're immortal, then why do you bleed?" Voldemort was livid that he had gotten injured.

"You, do not understand, dark magic. This is merely a side effect, of the Horcruxes. Nyah!" He threw his arm forward and Akumu and I dove to the side. Harry returned fire and the fight was on. Three vs one wasn't doing Voldemort any favors, and I charged forward, slashing down with my sword. He brought his arm up and twisted his wrist, pointing his wand right at my face. Instantly, electricity exploded from my core as my sword slashed through his pale flesh. He howled in pain as my power overloaded his system and stopped the incoming spell. I saw a crack in his wand and smirked. I stepped back and flicked my sword, most of the blood coming off. He held his smoking wound as he gasped in pain.

"And you don't understand muggle weapons."

"I will-! Yaaaaa!" He threw his arm out, spells firing off randomly. Akumu ducked under one spell while I flipped away from the other. I stumbled on a rock and landed on my backside. I shook my head and got to my feet, only to freeze as the world slowed to a near halt. A now familiar green light was flying towards me at high speeds.

'_There's no time to move!'_ My eyes shifted when they caught movement off to my right, only to lock onto Akumu's sprinting form. Determination filled her eyes as she ran with all she had. I caught a single tear fall from her eye as she jumped straight into the path of the Killing Curse.

'_NO!'_ The heel of my left foot had barely lifted off the ground before it impacted right in the center of her chest, knocking her flat on her back. She didn't get back up. The whole event took less than a second.

"No! …No, no, no, no!" I ran forward, dropping to my knees. "Akumu! Get up!" Her eyes were still open as I rolled her over, unshed tears in them as she stared unseeingly. I fell backward, staring at her still form in horror. Harry and Voldemort went back to fighting, Harry shouting in grief for one of his friends while Voldemort laughed. My body went numb.

'_She's gone…'_

***Thu-thump***

'_But she can't be…'_

***Thu-thump***

'_I promised her.'_

***Thu-thump***

'_I promised…And now…She's gone.' _Eyes now filling with hot tears, I shakily looked at the battle still going on. Harry was standing between us and Voldemort, acting as a shield. I could see him shouting over his shoulder at me. Hot rage pulsed through my body.

"I, promised." I weakly got to my feet, my balance off just enough to make me sway. "You. You made me, break it." Voldemort paused in his assault. Harry looked at me, concerned.

"Ah, one still stands." Voldemort started to turn his wand to me when low thunder rolled across the entire sky. He looked up to raise an eye ridge for a second before looking back to me.

"I promised to give her a home," I said, my voice hauntingly hollow, "I _promised_ to give her a new start." I ducked my head, my teeth gritting and fists clenching. "And_ you_ took that away." Thunder crashed and rain fell, slowly at first, only to rapidly grow heavier. "What have you done?" My voice was wavering, and my fists were shaking.

"I am merely putting her in her place. At my feet." Voldemort said after he cast a wordless spell to keep the rain off of himself.

"You killed her. My sister. She's dead. And because of you, I can't keep my promise."

"If you are done grieving for a worthless girl, do as a young man should around his better. Kneel." My head jerked up and my eyes made contact with his.

"Worth…less?" My voice cracked, lightning following suit.

"Yes. Worthless." He said, like he was teaching a kid a new word. I snapped.

"No." Lightning repeatedly flashed in the clouds. "Nooo..."

***Boom* **Lightning raced through the sky before striking me, blinding anyone who looked.

"_AAAHHHHH!"_ I threw my head back as my echoing scream raced along with the thunder, making the entire war around us pause. I screamed in pain, not just from losing Akumu, but also from the amount of lightning I was putting out _and_ calling down. My eyes were glowing pure blue as I glared at Voldemort, the lightning curling off of my body in a sharp aura.

"Do you know what you've done?! I was giving her a _choice!_ I was letting her live a _real life!_ And you _stole_ that from her!" One step moved me over Akumu's limp form. _"I won't forgive you!"_ Voldemort's eyes were wide when he saw my power, and he took a few steps back. Lightning bolts surged out, carving deep trenches in the stone laid ground. I took a few heavy steps forward, Voldemort taking one back. Harry had long since backed away, a tiny part of my semiconscious mind making note of that. Since he was now out of the way, I could unleash my full fury on the Dark Lord.

"Avada Kedavra!" Time slowed as the green light approached. I backhanded it away with a snarl. Voldemort gritted his teeth and fired three different spells. Each one was deflected with nothing more than a swat. He growled and pulled his wand back, gathering his magic. _"Avada Kedavra!"_ The spell lashed out and I raised both hands. The spell impacted my hands, making me skid back a few inches. I stopped myself with a growl.

"Grr-HAA!" I thrust my arms forward, his spell instantly overpowered, split down the middle and then vaporized by two separate arcs of lightning. The only sound was the lightning ionizing the air around me. Voldemort, for once, was completely speechless. "You killed her! You stopped her heart! _I won't forgive you!"_ I just about shrieked as the built up lighting around me lashed out wildly. Pillars and arches of stone once standing were left in unrecognizable piles. Voldemort was barely throwing up a shield each time a bolt lashed out at him.

"I was prepared to give up my entire_ life_ to make sure _she_ could have one!" Voldemort scowled at me and threw his wand arm out. My head snapped back, and I stumbled, barely catching myself. Reaching a hand up, I felt blood running down the side of my face. He had caught me with a Cutting Curse right above the eyebrow. Even with all of the power I was using, I was still vulnerable. If I wasn't careful, I could still die. The blood dripped into my right eye and I tried to wipe it out to no success. I kept it shut to try and stop any more from getting in it.

"Grr…!" I threw one arm down, lightning striking at him from the clouds. He let out a shout and dove to the side. Thunder clapped as the lightning retreated, leaving the spot he had just been standing now destroyed. He scrambled to his feet and tried to flee, black smoke forming around him. My eyes flashed.

"Where do you think _you're going?!"_ I moved, electricity supercharging my body as I leaped, cocking a fist back. His eyes instinctively shut from how bright the lightning was, allowing me to land the hardest punch I had ever thrown. I landed, skidding a few feet while spinning. Voldemort laid on the ground, holding his head. For all I know, I could have cracked his skull. "I may not be able to use the Cruciatus Curse, but I wonder if this is a close second! RAAAH!" I threw my arms forward, the lighting impacting his body as he let out a strangled scream. I screamed in return as unrestrained tears poured from my eyes. I could feel the electricity I was pumping out. Not even Tesla had used this much power before, and he was a dragon built for this. Meanwhile, I was only human. But I didn't care. I wanted Voldemort dead.

"-ai! RAI! _RAAAI!"_ I looked up and saw Harry standing in the middle of the ruined courtyard. His wand tip was pressed against his throat, and I recognized it as the Amplifying Charm. "Rai! Stop! You're hurting yourself!" I looked at my hands and gasped. My arms were shaking wildly, my skin was turning red, and I could feel my body aching in protest. I looked back at Harry in horror. The lightning around me gathered up and leaped into the sky, leaving with a final clap of thunder. Harry canceled his charm and ran over, ignoring the smoking form of the Dark Lord in favor of my own. I sucked in a wheezing breath, only to drop to my knees as my body was racked with a harsh coughing fit. Harry dropped to his knees next to me.

"Rai! Just breathe, just…breathe." He paused as I pulled my hand away from my mouth, revealing blood on my burnt skin. "We need to get you to Madam Pomphrey!" He scrambled to his feet and tried to help me up, but I didn't move. My hand, now sprinkled with blood, dropped to my side. My head slowly raised, and Harry's heart nearly shattered at the look in my eyes.

"…Sh-***cough* **She's _gone_…I-She's dead." Tears refilled my eyes and I leaned forward, pounding my fists on the stone. "No! She can't be! Akumu! No!" I shouted until my voice fully gave out, then I collapsed onto my side, sobs wracking my whole body as my hands grasped at my chest, trying to grab my heart as it shredded into pieces.

"…" Harry could only watch as he grieved as well. But not just for Akumu. He knew I wouldn't recover from her death. Not with how close we had grown. He looked up as people started to enter the courtyard. The first was Professor McGonagall. She paused, surveying the situation.

"Oh, dear." She bustled over to Harry and I, only taking a moment to make note and frown in mourning for the still form of Akumu. She shook herself out of it and crossed the rest of the way to Harry and I. She dropped to her knees and noted my smoking clothes and singed hair.

"Professor, Rai! He-!"

"I see, Mr. Potter." She cut him off patiently. She sighed as she placed a hand on my shoulder, but I didn't react except to flinch. "Mr. Taiki, I need you to stand." My head barely shifted enough to allow her into my line of sight. Beyond the red of my skin, my left eye was bloodshot, while my right eye stayed shut, the eyelid covered in fresh blood. The Professor steeled herself, years of experience the only thing keeping her from breaking at that moment. She stood up and flicked her wand, my body floating into the air. She conjured up a stretcher and gently laid me on it. As she walked back through the courtyard, she paused just long enough to repeat the process for Akumu's body.

Everything had calmed down around us, and Harry noticed students had started to show up, a few helping others limp along. He looked through the crowd and sighed when he noticed Ron and Hermione stepping through the growing number of people. Neville limped forward as well, still holding the sword he had earlier. He smiled sadly.

"You all made it." Ron's face grew grim and looked at the ground. Harry frowned, not liking that look. "Which one…?"

"Fred." Harry immediately grabbed his friend in a hug.

"Akumu didn't make it either." Hermione gasped, her hands going to her mouth as her tears started again. The three of them dropped to their knees, simply holding each other. Professor McGonagall sighed and kept walking, quickly wiping a single tear away. She could help her cubs heal emotionally after she helped those who needed it physically. And after all of that was done, then, and only then, could she allow herself to grieve. She walked into the castle and led the floating stretchers into the Great Hall.

**So…on a level of 1-10, how many calculators do I need to overclock in order to figure out the sum of hatred I just procured from all y'all?**

…**Welp, you are either going to hate me even more next chapter or forgive me(somewhat)! I do my darndest to keep my promises! XD I think there are two more chapters after this one, maybe three, I'm not quite sure. **


	14. Chapter 14: The End is Nigh!

I slowly groaned as I came to, immediately regretting the action as my lungs protested with a coughing fit.

"Oh, hold still young man." I winced at the loud voice ringing in my head. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my hands moved to defend myself without thinking. Unfortunately all my actions accomplished was me getting a low powered stunner spell to the gut, making me cough again. Thankfully it wasn't strong enough to actually stun me, just knock the wind out of me. The voice came again, but it was quieter this time. "You young witches and wizards always over doing it. Retirement will come all too soon for me." A voice said. Through my tired mind, I noted the voice was feminine.

"W-." My throat was so hoarse I had to whisper to not use my vocal cords. "Where am I?"

"Saint Mungo's." I faintly recognized the name. "You've had quite a few friends stop by since you got here. Had to force the lot of them out." Then everything snapped back to me so quickly I felt like I had been slapped. I sat up, ignoring the protesting nurse and my aching body.

"Akumu!" I looked around as I coughed into my elbow. My arm was pulled away from my face and a potion was shoved into my hand.

"Drink this, then talk." I warily looked at the corked vial. Hearing a huff of impatience from the magical nurse next to my bed, I popped the cork out and sniffed it. Recoiling, I shot a glare at the witch. She sighed and with practiced ease, made me slam back the potion before I could think. I gagged as the strong substance burned my throat like ice. With that out of the way, I glared at her.

"Where's Akumu?!"

"Who son?" I turned to see a wizard step through the white curtains on my right.

"Akumu! My sister! She was-!" I froze as the memory resurfaced and I slumped back, my heart shattering all over again. "…No…" I scrubbed my eyes, furiously trying not to cry. I took as deep a breath as I could, then looked the man in the eye. "Where did they put her…?" My eyes flicked over to see the curtain pull back again, and Professor McGonagall stepped through. "Professor-!" A simple hand being held up was all that she did, but it was enough to silence the sentence on the tip of my tongue. She turned to the nurse.

"Madame, how is he?" I didn't appreciate her acting like I wasn't in the room, but a sharp look from her kept me quiet.

"Other than the charred skin and torn muscles, his body is surprisingly resilient to whatever spell was used on him." The Professor nodded her thanks and turned to me, another look making sure she was the first to speak.

"I am not sure what happened when you were fighting Voldemort, Mr. Taiki. But whatever you did had the Dark Lord clinging to life, even before the final Horcrux was destroyed."

"I…nearly killed him?" She nodded, "But is he…?"

"Mr. Longbottom was able to destroy the snake. Voldemort is no more." I slumped back, a sigh of relief rushing through my teeth.

"He's gone…" I looked at her again, my throat tightening. "Where did you put Akumu…"

"You need to rest, Mr. Taiki." She stated calmly.

"I need to see her." Fiery determination danced in my eyes before suddenly extinguishing. "…I can't go home…" Horror made my breathing pick up and I looked at my hands. "I, I can't get home without her! She was the only wa-!" My voice caught in my throat and the medi-witch put a second potion in my hand.

"Drink." She commanded. I didn't move.

'_Not only is Akumu dead…I don't have any way home…What am I going to do now?'_

««{{¤}}»»

Once the nurse was sure I could walk with a cane for support, I followed the Professor out of my hospital room and down the hallway at her urging. She made sure I was still with her as she stopped at a door and knocked. A voice too soft for me to hear answered.

"Professor, why did you drag me halfway across the hospital?"

"She's in here." She said, and opened the door, holding it open for me. I cautiously stepped in.

'_Why do they have her body in a hospital room…?' _The room was rather dark, the only light streamed from the gently shaded windows. I stepped into the main part of the room, noticing a silhouette against the window. My heart stopped and my blood froze.

"About time you got here. I thought I was going to stand by this window forever." I scoffed in disbelief and shock as tears threated to spill again. Akumu, bandaged and beaten, turned to face me, and with a wave of her wand the lights turn on.

"Of course you plan a dramatic entrance." I choked out. She smiled, but it was forced.

"You act like you're surprised." Silence filled the room before I moved towards her with every bit of speed that I could and wrapped her in a hug. She returned it, tears in both of our eyes as we hugged each other as tightly as our injuries would allow.

"I'm so glad you're alive. I thought…I couldn't." My fists bunched up her shirt, not wanting to let go in case this was the cruelest dream I had ever had. (And that would be saying something…) She just nodded into my shoulder, knowing what I was trying to say. After a minute I pulled back. My legs gave out, and she had to help me sit on a chair before I fell. There was only one thing I could think to say as I sucked in a shaky breath. "I-I thought he killed you. How…?" She snorted, then frowned a little.

"Sorry, but…you are not ever repairing this thing." I raised an eyebrow as she held her hand out. I copied her action, and I noticed her wince at the bandages covering most of my arm and hand. She placed something in my open palm, and I gasped. Just about split in half with cracks running throughout, was my Yang necklace made out of dragon scales. I looked at her in shock.

"Wait, you mean?"

"The Killing Curse hit the necklace, not me directly. Apparently just enough of the spell hit me to knock me out, but not kill me." I stared at the necklace in disbelief.

"That's…"

"Astronomically impossible? _Beyond_ dumb luck? So ridiculous that it's actually not surprising considering it's us that did it? Yeah, tell me about it. Professor McGonagall got quite the scare when I woke up."

"Probably almost gave her a heart attack." The smallest smile traced my lips at the thought. Akumu sat on the edge of her bed, her feet swinging a little.

"So…what happened to you?"

"I went ballistic on Moldywart." I stated dumbly as I looked over my bandaged arms, the memories resurfacing. She folded her arms.

"Tch, of course _I_ missed it." She stated flatly. I stood up, internally groaning at the strain. I hobbled over to her and took her hands.

"I thought you were dead."

"You said that already." She said, flicking her hair back with a twist of her head.

"Akumu. Harry was the one to stop me. If he hadn't stepped in…" She stared at me in confusion for a minute, not getting what I wasn't willing to say, before her eyes widened.

"You were _that_ angry?"

"I stood up to, and almost killed, one of the most powerful wizards in history. I was blinded by grief. I wanted so badly to say it wasn't true, that you weren't dead." I sucked in a tight breath, "But I snapped. If Harry hadn't stopped me, I would have destroyed myself. Metaphorically, and physically."

"…" Her eyes started to water at the thought of seeing me in that state.

"…Come'ere." I turned and struggled to push myself onto the bed. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close. "But he did stop me. He knew that tearing myself apart wasn't going to bring you back."

"I knew you cared. I didn't realize just how much it would have affected you." She stared at her hands before whispering, "…Thank you."

"Anything for you Akumu." I slid off the bed. "Now, the nurse said I had 15 minutes. I have to get back to my room before she finds me and straps me to a bed." Akumu snorted, then laughed.

"Oh, that I would pay to see." I smirked, placing a hand on her shoulder. I held out the necklace, but she tried to push it back. "Keep it." I shook my head.

"No, I gave it to you."

««{{Flashback}}»»

(Muggle world, before soccer tourney)

"Akumu, can you come out here for a minute?" I heard her give an exaggerated sigh before popping around the corner.

"What? I was studying?"

"No, you were napping, don't think I'm stupid." She raised an eyebrow then rolled her eyes. "Just come here."

"Fine, don't know who died and made you boss." She sat down on the edge of my bed, her hands resting in her lap.

"No one, but I am older."

"Hmph." I smiled gently before holding out my hand.

"Here." She took the object and her eyes rested on it only for a second before snapping up to meet my gaze.

"No."

"I'm not asking."

"I'm not taking it, Rai. It means too much to you." She folded her arms.

"Which is why you should have it."

"That doesn't make any sense! Besides…it's your only reminder of them." She tried to argue.

"Not true. I have the memories." I said, tapping the side of my head with a finger.

"'Cause that's going to last." She snorted. "I'm still not taking it."

"I told you I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Why do you want me to have it so badly?"

"Because, I remembered Umbridge sa-."

"You trust anything out of that witch's mouth?" The fire in her eyes made me pause.

"No, but I did my research." Her shoulders slumped a little.

"Of course you did."

"These scales have latent magical abilities. I'm not sure what they are, but maybe they'll help you somehow. Who knows, maybe once everything settles down, we can figure out how to unlock your magic." Something flashed in her eyes, but it was too brief to tell what it was.

"Rai."

"I'm not making any promises. In fact, I'm out right saying don't plan on it working. But maybe keep that sliver of hope." She gazed at the purple and black scales as I passed it over to her.

"…Thank you Rai…"

"Gotta give you something, don't I? It is your birthday after all." She clouted me over the shoulder, making me jump.

"Oh shut up."

««{{Flashback End}}»»

"…And after it saved your life, you should have it now more than ever." She hesitated as I pushed it into her hand. "It's yours." She looked between my eyes and the necklace.

"But…it's the only thing you have of them." She tried one last time.

"And you saying that over and over again isn't going to change anything." She let me set the necklace in her hand, then slugged me in the shoulder. "Ow! Jerk." I rubbed my already sore shoulder.

"I'm not planning any death defying stunts any time soon. They haven't even released me yet." She said as she latched it around her neck.

"Still."

"Fine. Baka."

"Love you too, sis." I said as I hobbled out of the room. The biggest weight lifted off of my shoulders as the door latched.

««{{Later That Day}}»»

I sighed as Akumu and I stepped out of the hospital. Thankfully the workers there didn't throw away my katana. After only just getting it back from Sting, I was unwilling to let it go again so soon. I noticed a group of people off to our left. Recognizing our friends, I motioned to them and we walked over. Hermione was the first to spot us and stood up, alerting everyone else.

"There they are!" Everyone was on their feet in an instant, forming a circle around us. The noise was a little much for me, so I pulled out my wand and let out a bright flash of light over my head.

"Everyone done? Good. You don't need to shout." Everyone smiled and we went through a line of hugs and relieved laughs. I paused when I saw a particular red head staying near the back, sitting on a picnic bench outside of the crowd. One quick sweep of the small group confirmed the sharp stab of dread that had hit me in an instant. I put a hand on Ron's shoulder and gently pushed past him. Once everyone saw where I was going, they made a path. I crouched down, the wizard only making brief eye contact before looking back to the particular piece of grass.

"…I'm sorry George." He looked at me, a smile that was more painful than mine etched its way across his face.

"I always did say I would live longer… And I still can't figure out how you know who's who." I scoffed and shook my head, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. There were so many people that hadn't made it. None of them should have been in that war. I scowled a little, clenching my fist.

"Rai?" I turned to see Mr. And Mrs. Weasley holding hands, standing in front of the small crowd. "Are you alright dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"...Yes. I'm...sorry about Fred..." She gave me a small, knowing smile. She held out her free arm and I couldn't help it. I hadn't felt my own mother's embrace in years. Mrs. Weasley slowly took us down to ours knees as everything over the past few weeks poured out onto her shoulder. She quietly cried as well, Mr. Weasley placing a comforting hand on both of our shoulders.

After a few minutes, I pulled back, feeling much lighter than just a few minutes ago.

"…Thank you." Mrs. Weasley smiled sweetly, wiping tears from my eyes.

"You have been through far too much for someone your age." I blinked.

"You have _no_ idea." I weakly deadpanned. She let out a short laugh and pulled me to my feet. My ears registered a very familiar flapping noise and turned, but Mrs. Weasley cut me to the chase. She gasped and I was pushed behind her with a protective arm. A familiar roar of confusion made me turn around. "No, don't!" Mrs. Weasley hesitated, but lowered her wand as I stepped around towards Tesla, who had stopped when he saw the wand. "He's a close friend." I held out a hand and Tesla pushed into it, moaning a little before going on to bump me in different places, checking my injuries. I turned to see that Akumu had greeted Sting, her hand on his head as he walked up to us.

"Rai?" I nodded at Mrs. Weasley. "How on earth did you manage this?"

"Long story. I'll explain to everyone at some point, but not right now. Just know that both Tesla and Sting are not going to harm anyone. They simply want to protect us." Tesla nudged me. "Okay, Tesla protects me, Sting protects Akumu." He rumbled and I leaned on his head with a sigh. "You'd think after this many years the sass would leave your system. Guess you've been spending too much time around Astrid." His eyes widened a little and he growled at me. "Oh chill out. Still uptight as ever." He rolled his eyes and we both smiled. I hugged him around his neck, and he wrapped his wing around me, bending his head to rest against my back. I sighed at the long missed embrace. I pulled back, a smile on my face, which he rumbled at.

"I never thought we'd see each other again." Mrs. Weasley noticed Sting as well, who tilted his head at her.

This was a strange world. There were people with sticks that shot dangerous lights, and the air felt statically charge, like when Tesla got mad, but it was only around the people with the danger sticks. Mr. Weasley stepped forward, his eyes wide in awe. He reached out a hand but hesitated. I nodded as I stepped over.

"It's okay Mr. Weasley, they won't hurt you." He nodded and stretched his hand out. Tesla reached out to meet him, brushing his hand with his nose. Mr. Weasley ran both hands across the dragon's scales.

"Magnificent..." He said in awe. Mrs. Weasley held out a hand that was slightly shaking. I gently took her wrist and urged her forward. Tesla nudged her hand and she gasped at the texture.

"Yes, they are." Mrs. Weasley agreed with her husband. Tesla groaned at the praise. I gently whacked him over the nose.

"Come on, we've talked about this years ago, I told you not to let praise get to your head!" He growled at me, his shoulders raising a bit, only to get the Mrs. Weasley finger pointed at him.

"Do _not_ growl at him!" She sharply retorted. Tesla pulled back, looking between me and the unmoving finger, a little unsure about who this woman was. He brushed against me as an apology. I hugged him, smirking as she put her hand on her hips with a nod. "Good." I snorted in laughter.

"Mrs. Weasley, I figured out how your son Charlie tames dragons." She raised an eyebrow, curious. "He just taps into that motherly care you've kindly showed him for all these years." She huffed and propped both hands on her hips. I smiled, and she smiled cheekily in return, wagging her finger at me.

"You are lucky we are all still tired Rai. Otherwise you might get to experience some of that "motherly care" you say Charlie has seen." I audibly gulped, my eyes getting a little wider.

"Du-! Yes ma'am!" She smiled, for real this time, and I relaxed. Tesla chuffed in humor and I rolled my eyes.

"Mr. Taiki." I turned to see Professor McGonagall walking over with Harry in tow. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Like I've been hit by lightning. Oh, wait."

**A/N: Rough Google Translate ahead. If it's wrong, it's the best I could do! I am monolingual on a good day! XP**

_***Smack* **_

"Ahahahow! Nande ore?!"(Why me?!) I rubbed the back of my head.

"Hiniku ni naranaide kudasai!"(Don't be so sarcastic!)

"Ma, anata wa watashi o utsu hituyo wa arimasendeshita!"(Well you didn't have to hit me!)

"Anata wa jubun ni orokadesu, tokiniha sore wa sukoshi chikara ga kakarimasu!"(You're stupid enough, sometimes it takes a little force!)

"OI!" We glared for a second before our heads turned in sync. We blinked at the crowd of staring eyes before I busted up laughing, realizing we had slipped into Japanese without realizing.

"Rai? What language was that?" Harry asked.

"That was Japanese Harry, quite fluent, if I had to guess too." I nodded to the brightest witch of her time.

"Correct Hermione. We both grew up speaking the language. Of course, we learned English because it's becoming bigger around the world overall."

"But you had perfect accents in both languages!" I shrugged at that.

"That's how we were raised. Both of my parents are actually from America, so I had to adopt the Japanese accent. Not too hard when your teacher is 80 years old and doesn't like slackers." Everyone blinked at me before Tesla bumped me from behind. When I turned to look at him, his wing pulled back, exposing his saddle. I grinned.

"It's been way too long."

««{{Months Later}}»»

Akumu and I were up on a hill outside of the mostly repaired Hogwarts. It had taken months to get it to its current state, and the workers were still repairing the occasional fallen wall and busted floor out of the way of the main traffic of future students. Tesla nudged me from where he was curled up at my side.

"It's almost back to its former glory." Akumu said, her hands running over Sting's scales.

"It won't be the same though. The scars will always be there." She looked at me through a lock of hair, a glint in her eye.

"True…but I think I like it better like that. It shows a depth to the school." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Since when are you philosophical?" I coughed as she reached over, jabbing me in my ribs. "Gah! I was joking! You know I'm still sore!" She smirked at me and went back to staring at the castle.

"I always was. You just never listen."

"Sure, fine. I'll admit, I used to tune out your ramblings before Berk."

"Jerk."

"Aaand you're a poet too." I keeled over in pain, my gut flaring from where her fist had landed. "Okay-! I'm sorry-! Don't hurt me-!" I coughed out as I saw Tesla stare at me as if to say, "you brought this on yourself, I have no sympathy for you." I rolled my eyes at him. "Even after all this time. You still haven't changed."

***Whack***

"…Only proving my point, jerk." I ducker under his wing. "You're going to give me a concussion one of these days." He warbled and bumped his head against me. I grumbled in response as I leaned against his shoulder. He shifted around until his head and tail curled in a circle around me. I sighed, just enjoying the familiar feeling of static in the air. I missed Tesla and the others. My brow furrowed and I sat up, Tesla moaning in protest.

"…Akumu?" As I spoke, I saw her and Sting were copying Tesla and I. Her head was resting against his shoulder, just behind his head. My eyebrows raised when I saw Sting's tails draped across her lap. He trusted her enough to let her touch his tails. Both of their eyes were closed, and it was the first time in a few months I saw Akumu's face truly relax. Her eyebrow raised slightly in response to her name. Other than that, only a hum answered me.

"Hmm?"

"…Do you remember how Tesla and Sting got here?" Her eyes blinked open as she thought about it. She sat up and paused in thought before looking at me.

"…No…?"

"Really?"

"I…can't remember."

"Do you have access to your magic?"

"Rai, we've already established this, I can't do it." Her tone was

"Then why did Tesla and Sting come through one of your portals." Her eyes locked onto mine and for all her self-control, her breathing hitched. "Akumu…were you lying, this whole time…?" Her hands moved to her lap.

"…" The conversation stalled, and I looked back towards the castle, my thoughts running a million miles an hour.

"Why?" Her eyes flicked up to mine for only a second. "That's all I want to know, Akumu, is why you lied to me?" Her arms wrapped around her, nervousness breaking through her shell. "I'm not mad, Akumu, just…"

"…It's not important…" My lungs filled before I paused, thinking of my next words carefully.

"…No, I suppose it's not." I leaned against Tesla again. "You'll know when you're ready, to tell me and to go home." I closed my eyes and sighed, relaxing. I could feel her eyes on me for a solid minute before I could tell she stand up, Sting letting out a small squawk in protest. She mumbled an apology to him as she walked off. I cracked an eye to see Sting watch her walk away before he turned to meet my eyes, tilting his head. I closed my eyes and took another breath before grunting as I got up.

"Fine, Sting. Still haven't been able to say no to that look." I grumbled before following Akumu. She was standing at the edge of a small ledge, looking over the Black Lake. I stopped a few yards behind her, folding my hands behind my back, standing vigil. It was probably five minutes before she said anything. When she did, she didn't make any movements to look at me.

"I was scared." I dipped my head in acknowledgment. She would know I was urging her on, just by my silence. "I didn't want to face your parents." The only thing to break the silence was the distant water on the lake shore, and a small breeze brushing through the grass. "How could I face them? They probably hate me."

"I doubt it." I said.

"…You don't know that."

"You're right. I said I doubt it, not that I know it." She half turned to look at me.

"How can you say that?" Her eyes were dull, worry starting to seep through.

"You don't know them like I do, Akumu." I stepped up to her, looking over the lake and the hills beyond. "They are not people who hate. It is not in their nature."

"But I nearly killed them and then made you commit murder."

"True." I said as I shifted my weight from my heels to my toes, and back again. "But will they know it was you?"

"Of course they will!" She glared at me.

"Possibly." I said as my eyes swept across the scenery. "I should paint this. The castle would be a little difficult, changing appearance every day with the repairs and all. I wonder if Diagon Alley has any painting equipment. After all, I was able to find some on Ber-." She fully turned to me, stomping her foot down.

"Rai! Listen to me!" My mouth closed calmly as I made steady eye contact with her. "I can't go with you!"

"Why not?" I raised an eyebrow for a second, tilting my head a little.

"They won't accept me! Not after what I've done! I've killed people!"

"So have my dad and I." My gaze swept over the scenery again, noting a small herd of Thestrals on the far side of the lake.

"But those weren't in cold blood!" My brow raised as I mentally conceded to her point. But I wasn't going to admit that to her.

"Who's the judge on that, Akumu?" She paused, not expecting that comment. "Who are we to say what is justified murder?"

"Stop getting deep and listen to me!" I turned to her.

"I am listening to you."

"No! You're not!" She opened her mouth to continue, when I gripped her shoulder.

"You will not be judged. Not by my family. Nobody is perfect or void of faults. Yes, some are more severe than others. Yes, some people deserve punishment of a higher caliber. But don't you think me putting a full magazine through you was enough?" She hung her head, unsure how to answer me. "You are not a glutton for punishment. In fact, you avoid it at all costs. So why are you punishing yourself."

"…I don't deserve a home." My eyes closed in frustration before I raised my voice.

"Wrong!" Her eyes were wide as stared at me. My volume lowered as I continuted. "You deserve a home more than anyone. You deserve to have a family." I paused, "I bet, you weren't on that path until after your brother died…were you?" Her eyes widened even more, and she ducked her head. "You were angry. Angry at the cops because they couldn't do anything. You were looking for a way to make his killers pay. But you never found them…did you?" She shook her head, unable to speak. I continued.

"You went on a rampage, directing your anger and pain at anyone who tried to protest your actions. It was a blind rage you lived in for years. Long enough, that once you found me," I titled my head forwards a little, "You finally had a worthy opponent to unleash all of that built up anger on. You finally had a large enough outlet."

"I became obsessed."

"So did I." Her head jerked up, her brow furrowing as confusion danced in her eyes. "After…that day, I became obsessed with hunting down the life you had built. I found the gang that followed you, and I tore it apart. Piece by piece, person by person, I locked them away. I had become the fiercest force in the precinct. Even some of the more experienced officers avoided me because I spent countless days and nights hunting with hardly any care for myself." I shook my head as I turned to the scenery again, "I wasn't fair, I wasn't just. I was angry. I was blind." I let that sink in for a minute before turning back to her. "I went against everything I had ever learned. All of the instructions I had been given were put behind lock and key in my mind. I didn't care what I had to do, just as long as I brought them down."

"I was in the same boat as you Akumu. Except for the fact that I had a family who was able to pull me from that pit I had dug. I had people to help me to my feet when I had kicked myself into the dirt. You didn't before. But you do now." Her eyes misted over and she looked away, not wanting me to see.

"…I still don't think they'll accept me."

"How about when we get back, I talk with them. Before you even walk in the door, I explain everything." She mulled that over before looking at me.

"And what if they still don't accept me?"

"Then I'll help you find a place and get settled. I'm not going to turn my back on you Akumu. We've been through _far_ too much for that." I wrapped my arm over her shoulder. "Besides, I have a guilty conscience. I couldn't walk away and leave you on the street to save my life." She rolled her eyes, only half meaning her next comment.

"You are still way too soft."

"Only when I can be, Akumu. Only when I can be."

««{{¤}}»»

"Tesla…It's been fun, but we need to send you and Sting back." He warbled at me. "Hey, it's not like this is permanent, we can still visit. There's just no telling when." I instinctively ducked, barely avoiding a wing. "Cut it out!" I ran my hand over one of his horns that framed his head like a crown. "Hey Akumu?"

"Huh?" She was kneeling and digging through her bag.

"How often can you make a portal?"

"Unless I'm exhausted, as often as I need." I turned back to Tesla with a smirk.

"See? I'll visit as often as I can. I'm not planning on saying goodbye any time soon." Tesla rolled his eyes, as if he was saying "ask me if I care". I smirked and scratched him behind his crown of horns, watching his eyes roll back as he leaned into it. I pulled back after giving him a final hug. "Alright, ready Akumu?"

"As I'll ever be." She said as she slung her bag over her shoulders. I nodded at her.

"Let's do this." Akumu closed her eyes and raised her hands, moving them in two slow circles. She started muttering and a purple and black light started pouring from her hands, creating a sideways figure eight. About ten feet out, a small portal, the same colors of magic swirled into existence. It slowly grew until it was about 15 feet tall. Akumu lowered her arms as the invisible gong echoed out. I turned to Sting and Tesla, kneeling down as they both brushed against me. "We'll see you two soon, alright?" I paused when I noticed an oddly familiar stone hanging from Tesla's neck. It looked like someone, most likely Hiccup, had set the white stone into the collar wrapped around Tesla's neck. "Tesla…you kept it?" He groaned as he nodded. I smiled, placing my hand on his head. "You have no idea how much that means to me." He rolled his eyes and stepped back. I turned to Sting and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Take care of Tesla for me, will ya?" I dropped my tone a little, nearly whispering to him, "He's kind of getting old, wouldn't want him to croak out before I get to visit again."

***WHACK*** I was bowled over by a thicker portion of Tesla's tail, making me roll once or twice. I landed on my backside and lolled my head a little.

"Mom, make the Hippogriffs stop." I groaned as Tesla and Akumu cracked up laughing. I shook my head to clear the horse eagle hybrids from spinning around my head. I wobbled back over to them, Sting letting me lean on his head for support. I shot a harmless glare at the others. "At least I have one friend that doesn't abuse me…" Tesla and Akumu both shot me glares at me before I chuckled. "Alright, let's get you two home before I get a concussion or something." Everyone shared looks of amusement before I gave my dragons one last hug. "I'll visit soon." Akumu stood next to me and cleared her throat.

"_We,_ will visit you soon." Tesla, Sting and I nodded before they flapped their wings and leaped through the portal, the familiar gong sound ringing across the plain. The portal shrunk with a wave of Akumu's hand, slipping out of existence. "Well, shall we go home?"

"…I feel a strange sense of Déjà vu…" I snorted as she raised her hands and started another portal.

"Rai! Akumu! Wait up mates!" I turned to see the Golden Trio, along with Luna, Neville and Ginny running up, and blinked in surprise to see Headmistress McGonagall moving at her own, albeit slightly swifter, pace behind them. When the others got to us, Ron's hands going to his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Blimey! Did you have to do this so far from the castle?" He gasped. I only smiled.

"Well, we couldn't have our dragons scaring the students, could we?" He shrugged.

"They weren't that scary mate."

"Maybe not to you. But imagine never seeing a dragon before in your life, only to have one show up out of nowhere." He nodded.

"Fair enough mate." The Headmistress made her way over to us, presenting a scroll to Akumu, and then myself.

"What is this Professor?"

"An allowance to return to Hogwarts any time you wish. You still have much to learn when it comes to magic, and we can't have you getting out of practice." I smiled at her and held out a hand. She returned both gestures and stepped back. The rest of us traded hugs until Hermione and Luna stepped forward, holding out a gift to Akumu and I respectively. Hermione handed Akumu what could only be a wrapped book, while Luna handed me a large shoulder bag.

"What's this guys?" Luna's smiled widened a little as Hermione gestured to Akumu's gift.

"I know how much curses and hexes interested you, so I thought I would give you a bit of light reading to go through while on your trip."

"Thank you Hermione." Akumu said, a little too focused on the fact that someone thought enough of her to get her a gift. Luna turned to me, that same whimsical smile playing across her features.

"And I know how much the process of wand crafting piqued your interest Rai, so I thought I would help you start out." She tilted her head. "There are many Wrackspurts around your head Rai. Is your brain a little fuzzy?" I smirked, still enjoying her antics.

"It's just a little sad to leave. I know we can come back, but it…still hurts, leaving friends."

"I'm glad you had so many friends here Rai, and I'm glad you thought of me like a friend."

"Luna, we are friends." Harry snorted and I quirked an eyebrow at him. Luna spoke up before I could ask Harry what was so funny.

"That's nice. Harry said the same thing a while ago." I wrapped her in a one arm hug.

"_He's_ lucky to have _you_ as a friend. You're one of a kind, Luna. Own that." She just smiled, and her normally thousand yard stare seemed to focus as she took in my words, nodding. I opened the bag she had given me, and I gasped when I saw it had to have an expansion charm on it, because sitting inside, lined up row by row, were probably two or three dozen wooden samples. All of them were the appropriate length to carve wands out of. Two or three book were set off to the side, and a quick peak at the titles told me they covered the craft of wand making. Then I noticed five long vials off to the side in the bag, and when I pulled one out, it had glittering gold feathers in it.

"Luna…" I breathed in awe, feeling my lilac wand respond to the same feathers that resided in it.

"Oi! Don't let her take all of the credit! I pitched in a Galleon or two as well!" We all laughed at Ron's indignation. I made sure the vial of Thunderbird feathers was properly secured before setting the bag down and giving Luna a full hug.

"Thank you so much! I'll make sure this gets put to use." She nodded.

"Check the pocket on the side Rai." I raised an eyebrow, but opened it. stepping back. Akumu and I stepped up to the portal, turning towards our friends. I raised my lilac wand, Akumu raised her own as well, and with a simple flick, a silvery mist poured from the tips.

"_Expecto Partonum!"_ We called together as our Patronuses formed in the air. Mine formed into a white mare, which trotted around and rested it head on my shoulder. Akumu's shocked everyone the most. A large slender form slithered from her wand, a Python curling and twisting in the air. We both smirked and with another flick of our wands, our Patronuses took off, leaping and twisting through the air in a dance. Ginny was the first to react, and soon my mare was joined by another horse, both of which nickered and took off in a high speed chase. Soon everyone's Patronuses were out, even Professor McGonagall's cat Patronus was pouncing on Harry's stag as it passed by its owner, nearly knocking him over. I looked at the laughing group and noticed Neville didn't even have his wand out, he seemed content just watching the others.

"Hey Neville, which one is yours?"

"Oh, um, none of them." He said after a moment of hesitation.

"Why don't you show us?" His ears turned red and I saw his mental walls come up, an instinctive reaction.

"I uh…it might get a little too crowded if there's any more running around."

"We have the whole hillside Neville." I titled my head, my voice lowering a little as I grew concerned. "Are you embarrassed by your Patronus' shape?" He paused to think of an answer and let out a sigh. Pulling out his wand, he closed his eyes, his face squinted in concentration. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Neville. I'm not going to judge you." He nodded, his eyes squeezed shut. He took a deep breath and pointed his wand out.

"Expecto…Patronum." A single wisp fell from the tip of his wand, but nothing else happened.

"Confidence, Neville. You stared down the Dark Lord and used the sword of Gryffindor. If anyone can do this spell, you can."

"That was a moment of desperation, Rai. I really thought I was going to die." He stated.

"But the sword of Gryffindor only chooses those who it knows are worthy." I tightened my grip on his shoulder. "You can do this." He looked at me, still unsure.

"Yeah, come on Nev!" Ron cheered him on.

"You can do it Neville!" Hermione joined in. Soon everyone had given him encouragement. I patted his shoulder.

"It's now or never Neville. Prove everyone who has said bad things about you wrong. Right here, right now." His grip on his wand tightened and I saw a light in his eyes grow. His raised his wand and shouted with everything he had.

"Expecto Patronum!" A silver light shot from his wand in a fast swirl, darting around until it settled a couple feet above the grass. Everyone made room so Neville could see the slivery form as it swirled in one place. "…" Neville stared to turn away, his heart sinking. I kept my hand firmly on his shoulder, stopping him from turning. "It was no use Rai, I'm just not that good."

"I think there's someone you need to meet, Neville." His head bowed, he looked at me in confusion. I pointed with my free hand, and his eyes widened.

"That's, but that's a-a-!"

"The symbol of the House of the brave and selfless, the courageous and determined? The symbol for the House that you belong to? Yes, Neville, your Patronus is a lion." I led him forward as the large beast watched us, its tail calmly flicking. I stopped a few feet away from the ethereal form, urging Neville on. He knelt down in front of the lion, almost losing his balance due to nerves. It watched him confidently, a kindness that could have only been passed to it from its owner in its eyes. Neville reached a shaky hand out, the lion not moving an inch. His hand came in contact with the mane, and the lion closed its eyes, gently pressing into his hand. I stepped closer and noticed a strained smile on Neville's face.

"I…I did it." I smiled, which only grew as the lion stepped forward, rubbing against Neville's cheek. It wrapped a paw around him and gently pulled him into a hug, Neville hesitating only for a moment before he returned it, his face only partially visible in the shimmering mane. The lion almost seemed to hum as it held its owner.

After a minute, Neville pulled away from his Patronus and wiped his face with his sleeve, sniffing a little. I reached down and placed my hand on his back.

"And you said it was a moment of desperation." Everyone, including Neville, couldn't help but find that funny.

««{{A Few Minutes Later}}»»

"Alright! Off we go!" I said as we once again stood in front of the portal. Everyone called their farewells as I took Akumu's hand. "Ready?" I asked.

"What if I say no?" She prodded.

"Wrong choice!" I wrapped my arm around her waist and leaped into the portal while she let out an unflattering yelp. The colorful world giving way to a purple and black swirl as we flew home. We settled in for the ride as Akumu pointed a finger at me.

"First, don't ever do that again. Second, don't knock us out of the portal this time."

"I'm keeping my hands to myself, trust me. We don't need another two years stacked on top of the two or three we've been gone." She nodded and "laid back".

"Good." We floated on in silence for a while. I perked up a little.

"I forgot, what memory did you choose for your Patronus?" She thought about it for a minute.

"Honestly? The morning after I snapped out of it all. Once I realized what I had done, and that you were giving me a second chance despite everything, I was…ecstatic, for lack of a better term." She glanced at me. "Which memory did you use?"

"Two, actually." She raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking of when I first met Tesla. It was so surreal, I was still adjusting to being around dragons, and suddenly I had a friend that spits lightning like a Norse god." I tilted my head back as if pondering. "The second memory was just as powerful. When I realized I could help you."

"What?"

"I'm not heartless, Akumu. You know that better than anyone. I couldn't bear the thought of you just returning to your old self again. When I saw the chance that you might change…I was so happy." I snorted. "Plus a little relieved that I probably wouldn't have to dodge as many knives." She chuckled at that.

"You had no idea how wrong you were."

"No kidding."

««{{¤}}»»

Akumu and I stood outside of my house. A simple two story with a garage on the right side. It looked like someone was home, but I wasn't sure who it was. I didn't recognize the car. I walked up to the porch, leaving Akumu near the gate. I stepped up to the door and raised a fist. I paused, gathering the nerves I would need for this.

***Knock knock knock***

"Just a minute!" My heart began to speed up when I heard my mom's voice. I peeked over my shoulder at Akumu, who was leaning up against the fence. She nodded to me, but I could tell she was nervous. I turned back to the door and took a deep breath. The second the door opened my brain froze at the same time my mother did. So I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Sorry I missed curfew."

**Hold it! Before anyone freaks out! Yes, it's over! I have an epilogue planned, but it will be short(probably)**

**This story is just about as long as Chance Untamed, probably ending a little under 65,000 words, hard to tell with a few Author Notes. Geez. That means, in total, these two books somewhere around almost 150,000 words. And I've got more stories planned for the future, with a few written out for the most part! First though, I need to finish my book. That's right! I'm writing an actual book I can actually sell! I love for everything it's worth, don't get me wrong, but I have this idea I want to try out. If it flops, at least I tried.**

**The journey with Rai and Akumu might be finished, and it was probably more adventure than either of them would have chosen, but I think everyone can agree it worked out. Drago is gone...maybe*shifty eyes* nah, they found him dead after Akumu and Rai left. I'll leave exactly how he died up to y'all ;) Voldemort is gone, and everyone is in their proper dimension! Now Rai is probably going to sleep for the next month or so, meanwhile, him and Akumu have to adjust to home life and find a way to keep their magic and Rai's lightning power hidden from the world. Will they be able to?**

**_Duh._ They aren't _stupid._ XD**

**I really hope each of you enjoyed this wild ride. Chance Untamed started out as a ridiculous idea that I had no idea how to put together. For goodness sake I told my mom I hated writing my entire life, and I hadn't even finished High School when the first chapter went up. My very first story, an Erin Hunter's Warriors/Beyblade Metal Fury Crossover, flopped. I don't think I got more than two chapters up with that before I couldn't work on it anymore. A few weeks before I left on my mission I found what I had titled "Chapter .5" for the story. Now I know why I stopped, going back and reading that *shudders*. Now, I've got these two books, both of which are about novel length, finished. And I honestly couldn't be prouder. Not in a prideful way, I hope. But _I_ did that. I did _that._ Something I told my own mother I would never even consider as a job or hobby. And it's complete.**

**Some of it is the fact that I came to really enjoy it. Another part was you all. I went back and read your reviews that were left over the past…three years? Wow. Those reviews gave me the fire I needed to write the Untamed series. I probably would have written it anyways, because it was something I have come to love…but I enjoyed seeing everyone's reactions. I loved taking advice from you when you had it.**

**A special shout out to mr. jack joke. He was actually the one to help me skip from OoTP to the Battle of Hogwarts. He was willing to help me by bouncing ideas back and forth, while I was struggling to figure out how to keep SA to one single book. And while I fleshed out the details, he gave me unique ideas to mull around. I didn't want to cover every detail of all three books involved in SA, because no matter how much I love this series, it probably would have gotten old and very Gary/Mary Sue, sticking Rai and Akumu into every scenario when it wasn't needed. Even if I had kept them in the muggle world…three years is a LONG time to fill in. I would have had NO idea what to do. The soccer tourney was at the drop of a hat, and that even felt a little forced on my end, if only so the others could find them.**

**Alright, choice time, and I'll put a poll up so you can vote on my profile as well.**

**What should my next story be? I have a few choices, and some might take longer than others to complete, as I am working on my book.**

**a) Beyblade: Future Endeavors/The Guardian's Acquisition(which I already started posting, just need to know if people want to see both finished books.)**

**b) Pokémon: Pokémon Status: Journey Central/Pokémon Status: Rescue Mission(I somehow have the sequel done before the original…Maybe do a prequel-sequel so I have time to finish the original?)**

**c) Transformers: Renegade(Spin-off story, doesn't follow the timeline for anything really, TV, movies, none of it.)**

**d) Harry Potter/NCIS Crossover: Time Turned Upside Down(Not sure where I'm going with this one…Probably the least likely to continue.)**

**Let me know which one you want!**

**And seriously, thank you to those who reviewed, followed, or simply just read. This has been a huge boost in my self-confidence. I wouldn't have enjoyed nearly as much without the support. Chance Untamed alone has almost 19,000 views in total, with 73 reviews. Y'all need help, that's insane! XD**

**~Silverleone**


	15. Epilogue

"R-Rai…?" My mom stuttered. I held my arms out a little, as if showing myself to her.

"Su-priiiise." I said, a smile breaking out on my lips. We moved at the same time, our arms tightly wrapping around each other. Tears flowed from our eyes as the long awaited hug was given. After a good five minutes, she finally pulled away.

"But, how? Where did you go?" She looked me over like a mother hen. "And what happened? It's been three years!" I sighed.

"A long, long story. But before I get into it, is dad home?"

"Yeah," She said distractedly before snapping out of it. "Yes, yes he is." She noticed a look on my face. "Rai?"

"Can we go in and talk? There's something I need to tell you." Her brow furrowed in confusion, when she caught sight of Akumu leaning against the fence that stretched around the yard. My mom's eyes widened, and she started to shout.

"W-!" I held up my hands.

"No! Stop, please!"

"How is she alive?! What is she doing here?!" I grabbed her shoulders, trying to get her to shut up for five seconds.

"Mom! Stop!" She was shaking as she sucked in a breath. "Let's go inside." At that time I heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs in the living room. I turned her towards the door and ushered her inside, throwing a glance at Akumu. She nodded at me, signaling she wasn't going to move. I shut the door and led my mom into the living room, my dad freezing when he made eye contact with me.

"Rai…?"

"Geez, act like I've grown a second head will ya? It was only three years." I snorted before dropping the act, both of us wrapping our arms around each other.

««{{¤}}»»

"Where have you been this whole time?"

"Before I get to any of that…Dad, do you remember Akumu?" My mom, who's eyes had been blankly staring at the floor, snapped her gaze up to look at me.

"You mean the girl who hunted you?"

"Y…eah…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, her."

"What about her?"

"Well…she's…not as dead as we all thought."

"And she's standing out front!" My mom cried out in a panic. My dad's eyes widened as he stood up.

"WHAT?!" I was on my feet, my hands out.

"Let me explain!"

"…You brought her here? Rai, why?!"

"If you let me ex-!"

"She tried to kill you! She almost killed us! She is dangerous Rai!" He sucked in a breath to continue, but I cut him off.

"Just _listen!" _ The silence rang loud as I took a moment to recenter myself. "She's changed."

"How do y-!"

"Because I've spent the last three years with her!" I shouted. Lowering my voice, I continued. "She realizes now what she was doing. But there was one thing she always had that I never did."

"What?"

"A rage that buried itself so deep that it completely consumed her. She had only one thought, and that was to kill. She was blinded for years, and I was the perfect outlet. I was faster than her, stronger than her, better than her in almost every way. I was the perfect challenge." My dad was glaring just off to my right, his jaw clenched tight. My mom looked at me after a minute.

"So what changed…Or did anything?" She asked.

"A lot of things. You might want to sit down dad, it's a long story."

"…Fine."

««{{¤}}»»

"So she snapped?"

"Basically." I shrugged in response to my mom' question.

"And she hasn't tried to kill you since?" My dad asked.

"Not a scratch. Outside of sparing of course."

"You two sparred?"

"Well, yeah. Gotta stay in shape." I said as I uncrossed my legs. "She's a lost teenager who watched someone murder her brother at a young age. She has no where else to go." I looked at my parents with pleading eyes.

"Rai…What if she goes back to her old ways?" My face darkened, a somber look flooding my features.

"Then I failed her. Everything I worked for over the past few years have been for nothing, and I will end it. For good this time." I tilted my head back a little bit. "But it won't happen. She's come way too far for that." I made eye contact with both of them while I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. "Please. She's like a sister to me." They looked at each other, the mental eye-to-eye conversation occurring over the next few minutes in silence. They came to a silent conclusion and looked to me.

"The moment she tries anything, she's done." My face split into a wide grin.

"Thank you…!" I jumped out of my chair and hugged both of them. I hurried to the front door, nearly throwing it open. "Akumu!" I shouted as I leaped off the porch, running over to her.

"What? What's going on?" Her eyes were a little wider in concern, unsure if something was wrong or not. I grasped her hand and gently pulled her forward.

"Everything's fine. Come here, there's a few people I would like you to meet." She didn't budge and I shot her a look. "Don't."

"Bu-."

"They said it's okay." I insisted. I pulled her towards the house. "Come on, we have an extra room. You can sleep in my room until we get a bed for you. I'll sleep downstairs." She pulled her hand from my grasp. "Akumu…?"

"Even after all this time…" She looked at me, small tears shimmering in her eyes, "And you're still too stubborn to say no." I smirked, relief washing the worry away.

"Of course. It's my best quality." I said. She snorted and smacked me over the chest.

"It's definitely one of the bigger ones, that's for sure."

"I resent that comment."

"Get used to it bud, I've been holding back all this time." I smiled and took her hand, walking her up the steps of the house. My parents stepped out of the doorway and we all stopped. I stepped forward.

"Mom, dad, this is Akumu." I turned to Akumu, "Akumu, these are my parents." She shot a half hearted glare at me before awkwardly looking at my parents.

"Hello ma'am…sir…" Both of my parents smiled gently, seeing her nerves.

"It's nice to meet you." My mom said.

"Yes. I will admit, I am impressed with your fighting skills. According to Rai, you were able to best him in a few matches?" My dad asked, tilting his head a little.

"More than a few." She retorted gently. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Shall we show her the place?" My mom nodded.

"That sound wonderful." We led Akumu into the house, relief and joy filling my body. Without any warning, I promptly turned to Akumu and wrapped her in as tight of a hug as I could.

"Welcome home, imouto."

**There! It is complete! I have done it! Akumu has a home!**

**BTW, imouto, according to the ****five second research**** I did, is when someone refers to their little sister. If it's wrong, I'll change it. But only once someone gives me the proper term. I can't stand it when someone says something is wrong and then leave it at that. It's like telling a cat it's starving and not giving it a mouse.**

**(I'm weird, you know this. Don't judge me.)**

**Also! I did something I had never done before! I made my interpretation of the events in Chance Untamed chapter 30. Go to DeviantArt and search the tag "#ChanceUntamed" and the WIP and the finished product should both pop up. It surprisingly only took me a day or two, and while it's not cleaned up very well, I think I did good for my first try.**

**Make sure y'all go and vote on which story you want to see next! The poll is in my profile!**

**See you on the flip side mah dudes!**

**~Silverleone**


End file.
